Time Apart from Time
by Mission316
Summary: An epic struggle between two races suddenly hinges on a moment in a cave. Also, Chrono has a not-so-secret admirer.
1. Disclaimer

First off, I do not own Chrono Trigger. This is obvious, but I'm required to mention it anyway or something.

Second, yes – this is a new introduction. The old one really didn't make sense anymore, considering I wrote it in a hurry to get on with writing, and it was a couple of years outdated. Plus, I was embarrassed every time I had to read it because it screamed "noob." Thus, the new and improved introduction.

Thirdly, reviews: I will make it no secret that I beg for reviews. But I don't care about my review count – I want _good_ reviews. Praises and flames are not good reviews, and even "ConCrit" can be unhelpful. If I'm asking for reviews, I want something very specific, i.e. "x worked _because_" or "y did not work _because_…" you get the picture. Just saying "You're great" or "You suck" isn't helpful, and I didn't ask for you to increase my review count or inflate or attack my ego. I asked for help on a specific part of the story because I can't work in a vacuum. That said, thanks to those whose reviews actually inspired change.

Fourthly (that is an underused word, "fourthly," but I digress), this is what you'd call a "novelization" of the game. But this is not simply a retelling of the events in the game, nor a re-playing of it with words. I will adhere to the specific, most important events of the game, but long story short, I'm giving you a tip on how not to review. Don't say "I like the off-script stuff" or "You suck because your story isn't exactly like the game." You're wasting your time and mine. I know it's different. Why does it or does it not work?

Last, the author notes at the end of most chapters: you don't have to read them. In fact, skip every single one except for the most recent. All the others are outdated now, and when I edit the story, they will disappear. They are only there if I have a specific requirement for reviews, or if I'm relating news about my life that will affect updates. So the author notes for the first few chapters, for example, don't make any sense anymore and look silly now.

Now that the disclaimers are taken care of:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_And when the darkness falls,_

_And evil comes to destroy the earth,_

_There will come from the South,_

_A man who will be called a hero,_

_He will have around his neck the medallion of the Sun_

_To prove he is who was called,_

_And in his hand will be a sword of fire_

_To strike the enemy and undo him forever._


	2. I: The Millennial Fair 1

**Chapter I: The Millennial Fair**

Truce awoke with the sun. Its people lived in the light – died in the night. And every morning the sunrise would reveal the townsfolk, walking to his workplace, breakfasting, cleaning house. Light fueled the residents – some days when there wasn't as much light, the people would never be able to work. But bright, sunny days were the energizer of the town.

This morning would obviously be an energizer, apparent even before the sun peeked his head over the ocean. For this was the Millennial Fair, another excuse to celebrate. For if there are no heroes to adulate, no pioneers to remember, no mythology to recreate, we'll find another party to start. And what better reason to throw a party than to celebrate such a memorable year as 1000? – if not in history, than in number.

The sun continued to rise and warm the earth. Faster now, work, play faster now. The light is here. The heat is on. The colors of pavilions, decorations, costumes, swirling and twirling in a mad spiral. A song of cacophony – laughing, screaming, chatting, mixing together in one large wash of sound. The light is here. The heat is on. Feel the air, fresh and warm, massaging your back, neck, face, shoulders. Breathe it in, smell the hundreds of unnamable confections every aspiring cook has imagined into being.

From far away all is mad. Swirling, swirling, twirling – light, noise, air, people leaping across the square, flying from side to side, or only sitting to restore the spent energy. And the music played faster. The people walked brisker. The tents grew larger. And in it all, one stray balloon escaped the hand of its child, free at last – to soar in the open air and meet the sun and stars. As it cleared the chaos of the square, it shuddered some, then exploded in a sudden but spectacular bang.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Chrono."

A bell chimed in the distance.

"Chrono."

A woman's voice. Calling softly. She sat in a chair beside a bed.

"Wake up, Chrono."

The woman sighed, stood, and went to the curtain. Whoosh! – the light flooded the little bedroom, revealing what seemed to be a disheveled broom, dyed red, sleeping on the pillow.

"Chrono, wake up!" She was calling a little louder now. "You remember what today is… Chrono."

The broom sat up with a start, suddenly attached to a body. The boy blinked quite a few times from the invasive sun and shook his head, his red wisps reflecting the light.

"Did you not sleep well? I suppose you were so excited about the fair that you didn't get to sleep at all. Well, good morning, Chrono. I made you a breakfast, since you slept in so late." The woman left.

The boy rubbed his eyes a few times, then opened them wide, revealing two shimmering emeralds taking in the surroundings. After a beat, he suddenly remembered who he was and why he was in the bed. He threw off the blanket and leapt onto the floor. Well, his head was more awake then the rest of him, so he ended up taking a nose dive to the ground.

He almost walked out his bedroom door before he remembered that he never dressed himself. In a flash, he was at his dresser selecting the day's fashion. That is, if he had ever cared about his looks. He was always lucky enough to be a pleasant looking boy, so he never needed upkeep on appearance. Even then, who would he try to impress? Sure, some ladies may have found his forest green eyes to be powerful, or his freckled complexion to be cute, or his face to be well set and stern – small, strong nose – thin, bony jaw. Maybe that's as far as they looked. But sometimes they would go farther in trying to imagine the pieces he always protected. None of them knew that, underneath his tunic, he was a tall, wiry, and undeniably wimpy fellow. He didn't have an inch of meat from his neck to his navel. Though he knew his own strength, the size of his legs and arms would never convince the thrill-seeking female.

The boy started his day's attire with a white form-fitting shirt, which was always hilarious to him. After all, he had no "form" to fit. He always joked of how he could dangle a string from his collar to his feet and never touch anything on the way down. Once he had his chuckle, he slipped on his loose blue pants. He threw on a large blue vest over the top, taking care to double-tie each knot. And for the final touch, he wrapped a white bandana around his head to keep the wild hair from interfering with his vision. A quick look in the desktop mirror satisfied him, and he strode out his room and down the stairs.

"Ah, Chrono, there you are. And about time. Breakfast is ready." His mom was already about, setting the table for two.

"I'm not very hungry," the boy mused.

"You shouldn't eat a lot anyway if you're going to the fair. You'll get sick to your stomach. Just have something so you don't pass out from starvation." Mom set out two plates and sat down.

The boy sat shortly after, eyeing a sizzling plate of eggs and bacon. But not even the salty, sultry scent of the bacon could get his mind off the fair. Every boy loves a fair, whether he be 6 or 60, or 19 years old like Chrono. The boy poked his eggs around in a circle for a few minutes, painting his plate with grease. He stared at the food for a few moments, then took a tentative bite. After another moment, he took another bite. Soon he had finished an entire slice of bacon.

"I don't think I can eat any more, Mom." He seemed lost in thought.

His mother brushed golden-white hair out of her eyes. "Please, just eat some of the egg. Then you can go to the fair."

The boy paused, then slowly lifted a forkful of egg to his lips. He held it there for a couple of seconds, as if he were put in a trance. Those green eyes were staring at something nobody could see. Then, in a snap, the boy returned to his home and shoved the food in his mouth. Two bites later, he pushed his chair back and stood.

"Thanks for making breakfast."

"Are you leaving already, Chrono?" The boy only smiled. "Don't forget. Lucca will be waiting for you at the fair. She wouldn't tell me what she cooked up for you, but don't be surprised if it involves humor at your expense." The woman smiled at her son. "Have fun, and behave."

"I will, Mom." The boy went to his old mother, kissed her on the cheek, and disappeared into the light.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono shielded his eyes from the sun at first. Oh, it was a bright day. And it was a great day. Fun was always a high point for him, being a teenaged male. Sometimes he felt guilty for enjoying "child-oriented" entertainment. After all, now that he was nineteen, he should be an adult living on his own. Living with his mother brought him plenty of ridicule. Wasn't there one other factor in the townsfolk's disapproval? Ah, yes, he was poor. Sure, lots of people were poor – but Chrono was different, they said. Poor family, no father to support the family, and a wiry boy who can't keep a job longer than a month.

He winced at the thought but kept his head up. Today was for pleasure first, regardless of the people around. Chrono stretched in the sun, then sped away to the fair.

Stepping into the fair was stepping into a portal. All of a sudden he was no longer in Truce, but in a magical world, the world at Leene Square. Frantic costumes, dizzy children, clanging bells, all assaulted Chrono's senses. Soon he could not even remember the direction he came from. Everyone behind the stalls seemed unnaturally interested in him - or at least in his pocketbook - while those in front seemed not to notice the boy. He knew that would be usual; even though he stood out like a redcoat in a forest, nobody in a crowd full of excitement would pick him out for a good time. _Good, too. I'm not here for entertainment._

He stopped for a minute to get his bearings. After all, he wasn't here to be immersed in the experience of the millenium. In this crowd, he would take a long time to find Lucca's little sideshow. Didn't she say it was at the north side of the fair? And which side was that? Well, it wouldn't open for another hour at the least. That gave him quite some time to enjoy himself. And enjoy himself he would. If he couldn't find something fun near him, he had only to walk ten feet to find something else.

"Hey, you there!"

Chrono turned, surprised. A man was addressing him. Some old guy - actually, his age was indeterminable, but old was not a bad guess.

"Step right up. Test your strength! Here's the hammer, there's the bell, take a swing and give 'em – "

"No thanks," Chrono cut him off, though the game looked attractive.

"Won't cost a thing. You seem a strong young man. Look at those muscles! Why, this should be simple for someone of your stature!"

Immediately Chrono knew he was lying – everyone could see he was no muscleman. That's what everyone else said. But what if – what if they were all blind? This man, he seemed sincere. He was a nice guy. Sure, he was exaggerating - most old guys did that. But this man told the truth - he was the one who saw the true Chrono.

The boy stepped up to the tower, doing his best professional imitation. "So," he said nonchalantly, "all I do is hit the hammer here?" He pointed to a mark.

"Sure. And the harder you swing, the higher this indicator will rise. If it hits the bell, you win!"

"Win what?"

"You'll see…"

Oh, he was smooth. But Chrono would play his game anyway. What would it hurt? Come on, he was taking too long! Just hit the mark. What would you lose?

"Having second thoughts?"

"No." Chrono lifted the hammer high in the air, and the entire fair went silent. Nothing mattered any more except that mark. He brought the hammer down in a gigantic swing, his ears delighted to hear the thud of the mallet on the mark. The indicator rose higher and higher – and then stopped – _below_ the halfway mark. It fell to the earth almost as fast as Chrono's smile.

The fair roared to life again. "Sorry boy – you didn't make it. Would you like to try again?"

Chrono couldn't believe it. He had to do it again. Maybe he made a mistake in the swing. Maybe he missed the mark. But he could prove he was strong! Then again, the man was so smooth, so shrewd. He didn't want to look stupid again…

"Nah."

It was an effort for Chrono to saunter away looking disinterested. Every face seemed to stare at him – the failure, he couldn't even hit the bell. Thought he was so strong, didn't he. Well, he wasn't. Look at those skinny little arms – he grabbed one just for show – look how wimpy they were!

Chrono wandered to the fountain and sat down. Ah, well, you can't win them all… he'd try something else. Maybe Lucca's sideshow was set up. He had no idea what she'd invented this time, but he was sure it was spectacular. Well, maybe not, but he still loved her anyway. Sometimes he thought he only enjoyed her performances as a friend, but surely someone else thought she was brilliant. She always provided some excitement, especially in the blowouts. Chrono found himself laughing. Yes, her successes weren't as spectacular as her failures.

He wiped his eyes and stretched. He should probably check to see if Lucca was ready for him. Before he could stand up, he caught out of the corner of his eye, some old woman. Usually this would not bother him, but in that instant, he saw the wildly swinging handbag. Chrono tried to duck or move – but it was too late. Smack! – upside the head with a handbag which could only be full of cement – followed by a splash! – as Chrono fell into the fountain.

Chrono was relieved that not very many people seemed to notice, and more relieved that no one cared. He tried to pretend that he fell in on purpose, but he had never been a great liar. At least he carried nothing valuable, aside from his pride, which was probably still flattened under that mallet.

Chrono wrung out his clothes over the fountain and shook his hair semi-dry. Now he couldn't wait for Lucca's sideshow. Wherever it was. Say, which way was it anyway?

"Hey!" Chrono shouted. Or, somewhat shouted. "Um, excuse me, folks… people…" he tried flagging down the passersby. "Hello!" Naturally he got a few stares. "Um, I need some help!" Finally some young lady stopped – finally someone with a sense of kindness. Chrono smiled in spite of his… attire. "I need to know where Lucca is setting up her sideshow."

The young lady looked suddenly annoyed. "She's setting up at the north side."

Chrono frowned. "Thanks." _I already knew that! _The lady started to walk away. "Oh, wait. Which way is north?"

This lady was a master at looking annoyed. She pointed behind Chrono. "That way! But she isn't ready yet. She probably will never be. Hah!" Instantly she was gone, in the sea of people.

Chrono stared after her a long, cruel moment, then turned and headed the other way. _This whole stupid place! Ah! They just make me so frustrated. This fair isn't all these people make it out to be!_

But he wasn't done with disaster yet. "Look out, kid!" Chrono looked up to see ten people charging at him. "Kid, you're in the way – you'll be trampled!"

_Now I've done it! I've run right into the middle of a race!_ In a flash of brilliance, Chrono leapt nimbly to the side – right into a little garden of sticker brushes. He stood for a few seconds in dumb shock, then leapt just as nimbly back onto the path by a stairway. _Ah! My pants – they're almost completely torn! I wouldn't be surprised if I cut myself! -_ He bent down to inspect his pant legs… and banged his head on the handrail for the stairs. Chrono took a deep breath for a moment, then sat down on the lowest stair, holding his head. _I don't know which is worse – having them all notice me killing myself, or having them ignore me. Well, it can only get better from here.  
_

After his little headache subsided, Chrono stood and limped up the stairs. And, just his luck, another sideshow game! But he could that this might be more beneficial to his health.

"Step right up for Soda Guzzling!" an extremely buff looking man bellowed. He saw Chrono eyeing the drinks. "Ah, the next victim! Come right up! How many glasses can you drink in ten seconds?" Apparently he didn't notice or didn't care about Chrono's appearance. "Anyone else, or just this brave young man? You, sir, in the glasses? Miss, what about you? No, yes, you!" Chrono liked this guy already. "That's two! One more? Yes! We have ourselves a contest!"

The big man set down three small glasses in front of the contestants and filled them with bubbling brown liquid. "Okay – here's how it goes. I say go, and you drink as much as you can in ten seconds. If you finish a glass, I refill it. Whoever drinks the most glasses, wins. Ready, ready, GO!"

Chrono guzzled his first glass greedily – and it was instantly replaced with another. And another. And another. Soon Chrono was getting cross-eyed. "I think we have a winner!" the big man boomed. "Are you going to be all right, kid? You inhaled almost eight glasses of this stuff."

The boy only nodded – and let out a burp arguably the best in length and amplitude... ever. He was met with hearty laughter from all attending, including himself. He stood, stretched, and turned to leave. "Going already?" the big man asked. Chrono turned to reply, but tripped over a chair behind him. He lay sprawled on the ground for a good three seconds before he started laughing again. "Say, all that soda's gone to your head!" The big man tromped over. "Need a lift?" He put his meaty arms under Chrono and launched the boy to his feet. And as a parting gift, the big man gave him a strong, friendly pat on the back, dislocating a few joints. Chrono coughed – "thank you, sir," he gasped, then skipped away.

_I'm sure to remember this day – nothing is going as planned. Wonder when Lucca's sideshow opens. Where was it again – ah yes, that way, by Leene's Bell, no less. Might as well check to see if she's ready._

Chrono shrugged his shoulders to get all his bones realigned from the friendly "pat," and headed north for Lucca's show. For some reason, this section of the fair was far less populated and loud. Not that Chrono minded… rather, he enjoyed that freedom. The colors were somewhat duller around here as well, even though the air was lighter.

A quick glance toward Lucca's place reminded Chrono that there was still plenty of time before the show. There was no sign of anyone there. _Sure. I guess that means I have to wander around some more. Well, it can't really get any worse._

He smirked and turned to rejoin the antics of the fair. As he turned, he saw a flash of white, yellow, blue, and felt something smack him in the middle of the forehead. His feet flew out from under him, and he saw them reaching into the sunny blue sky. Another flash of white, yellow, and blue, and his head hit the unforgiving stones beneath Leene's Bell.


	3. I: The Millennial Fair 2

**The Millennial Fair**

Chrono jumped to his feet. Surprisingly, the landing didn't injure his head (but it would surely be throbbing tomorrow). _I think I ran into someone – hard. Where'd he go?_ He didn't look far before seeing another figure getting to its feet. Being the gentleman he was, Chrono knelt next to the stranger.

The first thing he noticed was that the stranger was a girl. A young girl – probably no more than, say, seventeen. She either was intensely anti-fashion, or a rebel, Chrono could see. Her light blue clothing was quite loose-fitting, and he got the impression that this was the first time this girl had ever worn casual dress. He wasn't sure what impression she was trying to make – was she trying to be edgy? She had her head down, as if checking for something.

Chrono put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

The girl probably didn't hear him. "Oh no! Don't tell me I lost it!"

"Lost it?"

"Yes – my pendant. – Er… it's a family heirloom. It's really valuable!"

Chrono paused a moment. _Oh my. Imagine if she told that to an unscrupulous weasel. She'd never see it again.  
_

"What does it look like?"

The girl paused. "A pendant."

"Be more specific."

She laughed. Actually, she giggled. Chrono found it a pleasant and contagious laugh. "I mean, it's on a string… and it has a jewel in the center. You know, like a pendant! It can't have gone far."

Chrono stood, looking around at the ground. "Well I don't – "

The girl cut him off. "Oh! There it is! You must have stepped on it when you came to help me. It got wrapped up around your foot."

"Ah." Chrono stared at his foot for a moment before bending down and removing the pendant. He reached out his hand for hers and got his first good look in her face.

First he saw her eyes – green cat-eye marbles, or so Chrono thought. She had long reddish-blonde hair which was tied up in a ponytail. She also seemed to have a congenital disease that had frozen her face in a radiant smile as contagious as her laugh. Chrono also believed she had eaten just a little too much sugar in the last hour or so. She never stopped moving. Ever. Perhaps she was a little excited to be here?

"Thank you so very much." All of a sudden the girl blushed. "Er…" she faltered a moment. "I'm kind of new around here."

_Never would have crossed my mind,_ Chrono thought.

"My name is… Marle," she stammered. Something was wrong with her, that was sure.

"Ah, yes," Chrono returned. "My name is Guardia."

"But that's impossible."

"I know. But I figured since we were doing names…" he paused to let his sarcasm sink in. "Chrono."

"Okay… Chrono. Well, I've never been here before, and I'm kinda lost. Would it be okay if you stay with me awhile? I mean, just to show me around?"

Chrono nodded. If there was one thing he needed, it was company. Sure, it would look strange to everyone he knew to see him walking with a strange girl… but she was a new girl in town, and he wanted to be a gentleman. A gentleman would help her.

"Thanks!" Marle strode over and took Chrono's hand. "You can show me everything! Where should we go first? How about over there – what's that?"

"Um… that's – "

"Let's try it! Whatever. It looks fun from here. C'mon, do I have to force you or something?"

Chrono sighed but followed the girl to a dancing circle. Boy, she would be a tricky one. He figured he could keep his eye on her at the dance, but she quickly broke her grip on her escort and leapt into the circle of dancers, shrieking in delight the whole time. Chrono thought of following at first, but, not being a good dancer himself, chickened out. He'd just find a seat and wait for the hyper girl to lose energy.

"Come on, Chrono!" Marle shouted from the circle. "Come on and dance. It's fun!"

"Oh, no – I don't… dance."

Marle ignored the reply, leaving Chrono alone at a table. The boy sat, putting on his best "bored" face. So far this day was turning out to be terrible. But this girl, she was a lot of fun – maybe she wouldn't be so bad. Chrono smiled at the thought of her giggling, full of life and happiness. He found himself watching her as she danced – enjoying her beaming smiles and laughter. He didn't know why - but something about her was exciting.

All of a sudden the dance was over. Chrono stood and approached the girl. "Shall we continue?" he asked gentlemanly.

"Sure!" She giggled again and grasped Chrono's hand. "What else is around here?"

Chrono figured if he didn't act now, he would never see his friend's show. "Actually, I heard that some girl is setting up a little show…"

"Great! Where is it?"

"That way – Yikes!" Chrono yelped as he was suddenly tugged toward the sideshow. _Who's doing the leading? You or me?_

Marle probably would have dragged her escort all the way to the show, had she not run smack into some stranger's back. "Oh, I'm so sorry sir!"

As the stranger turned around, Chrono recognized him as the Old Man Melchior. He had heard so much about him, and sometimes seen him at odd celebrations and such, but had never actually met him. Not that he had a yearning to meet the man – Melchior had a reputation for eccentricity, to put it politely.

Old Man Melchior was the kind of man whose age was impossible to determine. His hair was snow white, including the thick, bushy mustache which competed with his mouth for size. But unlike most old folks Chrono had seen, Melchior did not have very wrinkly skin. Aside from the usual aging blemishes – marks and such – his skin nearly matched Marle's in healthiness. He was quite plump, but not grossly overweight, possessing the "young" fat which clings to the muscles, rather than the "old" fat, which hangs loose and wobbles and threatens to pull off a person's face. Chrono was sure that, if dressed in the proper attire, Melchior could pass for a whimsical grandfather. However, dressed as he was now, he would scare away all his grandkids. He had at least six layers of robes and tunics adorning him as if he were some kind of royalty from the dark ages.

Supposedly he was a weapon smith, but Chrono could not be sure, or even less care. Old Man Melchior was the kind of man who you smile and nod at while simultaneously alerting the proper authorities. Chrono had an odd feeling just looking at him. Marle must have had the same feeling, for she backed defensively into Chrono.

"Oh, hello children!" he smiled, black eyes sparkling and squinting.

"I… er, I didn't see you there."

"That's all right by me. Barely felt it there, with all my padding," the old man laughed as if he just invented the funniest joke. Marle chuckled a little, a Chrono couldn't help smiling. "How about I pretend it never happened! Nice to meet you. And you are?"

"I'm Marle! And this is Chrono. I bumped into him, too. Send him flying to the ground, too – he's a perfect gentleman, you should know. I'm new in town, and he's showing me around the fair – "

Melchior held up a hand. "Whoa, there! I wasn't looking for a testimonial. But I appreciate your openness. Well, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, too, uh… er…"

"Melchior. Or, as I am known, Old Man Melchior."

"Ah. Melchior. Well, goodbye, then," Marle waved and turned to leave, her pendant flying around her shoulder.

"Wait!" the old man gasped. "That pendant. May I see that?"

Marle whirled around toward Melchior. "Sure thing." Smiling, she pulled it from around her neck and dangled it beneath the old man's nose.

"Marle!" Chrono shouted, instinctively grabbing the jewel.

"What?"

Melchior seemed unfazed by Chrono's outburst. Rather, he seemed in a trance. "It reminds me of… say, could I interest you in selling that pendant?"

Chrono beat Marle to the answer. "No! Sorry, but it belongs to her family. It's real special to her!" He winced at his own harsh answer but glared Melchior in the eye.

The old man snapped out of his trance. "Oh! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to be so forward. It's just that the pendant reminded me of something I knew… a long, long time ago."

Chrono took Marle's hand and for once, pulled _her_ away from something.

"Chrono, what was that? He was just being nice." Chrono didn't respond, still pulling Marle toward the sideshow. Of course, Marle couldn't think of the old man for long – "Hey, Chrono, look! A candy stall! Can I get some candy? Please? I have some money! I'll pay!"

Chrono sighed, then took her to the stall. No one was behind the counter. "Hello?" Marle called. "Is anyone here? Hello, I just want some candy!" Still no one came. After about twenty seconds, Chrono took the girl's hand and started to leave.

"Hey, wait, Chrono! Just be patient!" Marle refused to follow. Chrono dipped his head and returned to her side.

"Marle, there is no one here. Let's just go. Lucca is waiting."

"Lucca! Who is Lucca?"

On cue, the stall tender appeared behind the counter. "May I help you folks?"

"Yes," Marle said. "I'd like some of this… and some of that."

"Yes, ma'am."

Marle turned back to Chrono. "So, again, who is Lucca?"

"She is – "

"Here you are!" Marle turned to see the shop keeper extending a bag of sweets.

"Thanks," she said, then turned to Chrono. "Oh, and thanks for waiting. Let's see that show you promised me."

"But..."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Already a crowd was gathering at Lucca's show when Chrono and Marle stepped up. Luckily, the two of them arrived near the show's start. They were amazed to see two very large structures resembling capsules standing about twenty feet apart. A strange contraption lay in between them, connected to the capsules by hundreds of tubes and parts that probably had quite interesting names and quite complex construction.

As soon as Marle laid eyes on the girl standing by one capsule, she knew her to be Lucca. The girl looked about Chrono's age and about a hundred times as bizarre. She wore a helmet, which probably was equipped to protect her from flying objects, but just made her look like a visiting alien from a nearby planet. It was the color of Lucca's hair that was most striking – purple. Marle had never seen such wild hair color. The girl must have dyed it. Add to this description a pair of two-inch thick glasses, and already Lucca was a triply disturbing girl to see.

Marle had to admit that the girl had a good face – there probably wasn't a blemish on it, and if she wore makeup, it wasn't noticeable. She couldn't help but wish for a moment she was as blemish-free. Her height made Marle realize how short she was in comparison. The girl must have been taller than even Chrono, whom she guessed crept up on six feet.

But if Marle was jealous for a moment, the feeling passed considering Lucca's attire. The girl looked as though she would fit more in some bomb squad than a millennial fair. She must have been hot and sweaty under that thick top. Who knows, it might have even been bulletproof. The skirt was a relief to see – it matched her complexion well and looked almost comfortable.

"Step right up!" the girl was shouting. "Step right up! Behold my new invention, the Telepod!"

Before she got any farther, she was met with a few sarcastic remarks. "Hey, will it work as good as the last one? I hope not!" "Does it fly? Does it turn into a toad?" Lucca ignored them and continued.

"No! This thing will actually take a person and teleport him from one end to the other! All you have to do is step in this side…" she pointed to the pod on her right, "and you'll come out on the other. It's as simple as that!" Lucca stepped back to the machine in the middle. "And now to demonstrate, I will bring one of you in the audience to try my new invention!"

Chrono's eyes widened. So _this_ was the surprise. "Oh, no," he whispered. He tried to make his escape, but he was spotted.

"There he is!" Lucca shouted. "Chrono! Come on up and give the Telepod a try!"

It was no use resisting. Though the crowd never believed the Telepod would work, they weren't about to pass up the opportunity to see some guy make a fool of himself. The people formed a ring around Chrono and moved themselves to force him toward Lucca and the Telepod. Once there, Lucca grabbed Chrono on the arm and tossed him into the first pod. "All right, Dad, let's start this baby up!"

Chrono stood virtually paralyzed as Lucca's father stepped out of the crowd toward the machine.

"Power on," Lucca told her father while heading to the pod.

"Power on!" he repeated in a false deep voice, flipping a few switches.

"All systems full." Lucca began to fiddle with something behind that capsule.

"All systems full!"

"Ready…"

"GO!" The two of them roared. Chrono was suddenly blinded by a blue flash, and he felt as if his own body were leaving him. The feeling left him dizzier than a dog in the dryer. And as soon as it started, Chrono found himself back in the fair – but twenty feet to his left.

The crowd stood in stunned silence for a minute. Finally, Marle let out a cheer. "Wow! That was awesome!" Soon the crowd joined in the praise. As modestly as she could, Lucca proceeded to take all the credit.

"Thank you! Thank you! Yes, now who else would like to try this! Ha ha!"

No one stepped forward, but Chrono did stagger down from the other pod, looking more than a little dazed. Marle immediately ran up to him. "Whee! That looked like fun! Can I try? Can I?" She ran to the first capsule.

Lucca poked her friend in the ribs. "Say, Chrono, where did you pick up a cutie like her?" She laughed, enjoying watching Chrono's face turn redder and redder. "So, how did you get your clothes all wet? Did you rescue her from the fountain? Didn't think you had it in you!" She jogged back toward the machine and yelled to Marle. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You can always change your mind!" Lucca's father added.

"No way!" Marle giggled. "Throw that switch!"

Everyone enjoyed a chuckle. Then Lucca rolled up her sleeves and headed to the pod. "Power on!"

"Power on!"

"All systems full!"

"All systems full!"

"Ready…"

"GO!"

The crowd watched, waiting enraptured for the blue light to return. But it didn't come. Where was that light? The other boy had it last time they threw the switch. What was taking so long?

Suddenly Marle jumped. "My… my p-pendant!" she stammered. The crowd looked at her neck to see Marle's necklace glowing and pulsating. The girl screamed, as if the pendant had become heated beyond comfort by the strange glow. She pulled it off her neck and dropped it to the ground, whereupon she disappeared.

All seemed well for a moment until everyone realized that Marle was not reappearing at the other pod. Then, out of nowhere, a strange blue sphere opened in midair between the two pods. Nothing seemed to be inside the sphere; it looked like a portal into emptiness. But then, a form began to take shape – a shape of the girl! Marle began to scream. At least, that's what the crowd thought, because her mouth was open wide. Not a sound escaped the nightmarish vortex. No one got to savor this moment, though, for the sphere immediately closed, swallowing the girl whole. Chrono instinctively ran for the portal but his hands grasped emptiness.

"What! What happened?" Lucca shouted.

Everyone sat dumb for a long time. The first to snap out of the numbness was Lucca's father, who immediately began to herd the rest of the crowd away. "Let's go folks. Nothing left to see here. Show's over."

"Chrono! Why did that happen?"

"Do you think I know?"

Lucca started pacing, a sign that she was in deep thought.

"Her pendant. It was glowing when she was thrust into that portal." She stopped to look at Chrono. "Maybe the energy from the pod reacted with the material in the girl's pendant and completely offset the coordinates for the teleportation… but to where?"

While Lucca contemplated her failure, Chrono strode over to the Telepod and picked up Marle's pendant.

"But what kind of material would divert that energy that way. I would have expected a diversion like that to have killed her! After all, it's absurd to assume that all the diverted energy went to one spot! You'd think it would have been sent every which way. She should have been cut up into a million pieces!"

Meanwhile, Chrono stood waiting in the pod.

"Chrono, do you…" Lucca glanced up at her friend. "You… you're going after… going… you're going insane!"

"I'm going after her," Crono said as coolly as he could. "Throw the switch, Lucca."

Lucca conceded. "Okay, hero. But, I can't run this by myself. I'll be back with Dad."

In a moment she and her father were at the machine. "All right," Lucca was saying. "you'll follow the girl wherever she went. I'll go home and research what went wrong – then I'll follow you two. Well… good luck, Chrono! Power on!"

"Power on!"

"All systems full!"

"All systems full!"

"Ready…"

"GO!"

Chrono braced himself, but no bracing would prepare him for the next feeling. Suddenly the pendant grew hot. So hot he could not touch it without being burned – he tried to throw it off, but he was too late. A force sucked him out of his body, sending fire through every bone and sinew. He closed his eyes and screamed, but could not hear himself. When he opened his eyes, he saw Lucca staring back at him, real as if she were standing not two feet away. Chrono reached out with one hand but hit some invisible wall. He whirled around and stopped cold. There was an infinite field of blue pulsing light, starting to pull him towards it.

In a frenzy, he began to grope in every direction, but the Millennial Fair was gone. His world faded to blue, then to black, as he was pulled violently forward into infinity.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay, I know it may not be the most realistic of moves to suck you out of the story and give you a sermon. And to think I used to be annoyed when other writers did this. Now I see that it may be important. This is my only chance to speak my mind with my readers (all two of them or something), so I'll give a note after each formal chapter (the chapters in roman numerals).

First, reviews: I do not know why there are any reviews at all for this story, as there is only one chapter to read. There isn't a whole lot you can say... though I appreciate the thought. If you want to make a serious comment, I would like feedback on the characters (after all, this chapter is an introduction for three main characters and three other characters). Be as specific as you can - don't just tell me it's good or bad. I need to know if the characters work for you. I don't care if your review is longer than my chapters. I'll read fast.

Second, updates: I was lucky and got today off, but I do not know how my schedule will pan out. There will be periods coming up where I will probably not update this for days, maybe a week or two. I apologize - it's cruel to start a story and leave you hanging (as if you are clamoring for the updates anyway). Long story short, updates will come in my spare time. That's all I can promise.

Finally, story: it's quite obvious I have changed some story elements. Use discretion in notifying me. Chances are that I am aware of the change because it is on purpose - but if a change just didn't work for you, then you can point it out because I probably screwed up royal. Now, about this particular chapter: we all know that the events at the fair are in preparation for the trial, and I changed those events. Remember, I have the trial in mind, and everything said or done will come up then.

There. I'm sorry to bore you with a really long note. The next ones will be short. Honest.


	4. II: The Queen Returns 1

**Chapter 2: The Queen Returns**

Chrono awoke in a flash, lying on the ground. Well, he never truly awoke, because he never really slept – but he felt like he was awakening from something. His mouth, tongue, and lips were dry, but he guessed that was due more to shock than fear. Really, now that the portal was shut, he felt quite fine, and couldn't understand why he had even felt nervous.

All of a sudden the reality of the situation hit him – "Oh no," he groaned. "The portal is shut – there is no way back! Once Lucca gets here, she'll be stuck with me!" Involuntarily he put his hands to his chest. "What's this?" He felt something on his shirt – the pendant. _That's right. I never took it off. – Wait! Lucca won't be able to even follow me without it._ _Ah! Why was I so stupid? I should have gone for help instead of playing hero._

He sighed rather loudly and rose to his feet. "Now, where did the portal take me?" His first impression was that of a forest. A forest on a hill. He also seemed to have lost several hours to the portal – it was already nighttime! Marle could be miles away by now! _I'm not going to find her as long as I stand here. But which way do I go?_ There was so much undergrowth around him that his vision was severely limited.

But, before he could take a step, he heard a faint rustling in the bush nearest to him. He froze in caution. _Okay, relax. Lots of animals live in places like this – _he took another step. And then another. No gelatinous monsters had oozed out of the bush yet, so Chrono figured he was safe. Still eyeing the bush, he backed a few paces.

That turned out to be quite foolish, he found out. He turned his head just in time to see that he stood over a forty-foot drop into a river. Across the river he could see a vast plain with some lights dotted in one end. That was good – light meant people, people meant civilization, civilization meant questions and answers. Chrono knelt along the edge of the underbrush and craned his neck in both directions. No easy way down as far as he could see.

He slowly backed away from the cliff. If there was no way down here, he would walk around and look for another way. Before he could make his move, though, he bumped into something small and hard. Chrono whirled around to face the most bizarre creature he had ever seen in his life.

He… it… the thing, was short, only up to Chrono's waist. It was humanoid in form, but its skin was bright blue all over. The creature had no hair anywhere. It wore civilian-type clothing, but there was no way it would be mistaken for a human. Chrono didn't find the creature threatening. Bug-ugly was a better description, he thought.

The two shared a moment of shock. Both seemed to be surprised to see the other, but soon, the creature's look of surprise became one of anger. It bared its short, but more than likely sharp, teeth at Chrono. _All right. What did I do to anger him? Great, I'm between him and a cliff._ He looked behind him at the drop. _That creature doesn't look too tough, but boy does he look mad._

Chrono braced himself for a charge. _What's he going to do? Gnaw my knees off?_ But the creature also seemed prepared for an attack. Chrono hesitated. _Maybe he only feels threatened by a stranger__. Maybe I could –_ that's as far as his thoughts went before the creature leapt at his face, knocking him to the ground.

For such a little creature, the thing was heavy as a boulder. He pinned Chrono's head hard against a tree root while pummeling the boy with tiny fists. To say Chrono got irritated would be like saying the sky is blue – he got downright infuriated. In a burst of strength, he threw the creature off to the side, and whacked him on the head for good measure. "How's that," he hissed, standing shakily.

He began to trudge away, but the creature had other thoughts. Chrono felt the thing latch on to his back. That might not have been so bad had the creature refrained from using claws. But the thing's claws dug into his bag, insuring that nothing on earth would unlatch it. Chrono grunted and shook wildly, trying to remove the creature, but it was just too persistent. Finally, in a last ditch effort, Chrono threw himself backward onto the hard earth. Stunned, the creature loosened his grip long enough for Chrono to roll away, but it wasn't finished yet. It jumped on him again, hoping to claw at the boy's eyes.

But Chrono was ready for this. He planted his hands firmly on the creature's chest and shoved it into the air… backward, over behind his head – and down the cliff. It let out one final defiant growl as it disappeared from sight. Chrono crawled to the edge of the cliff in shock.

There, at the bottom, the blue creature lay, definitely dead. And _he_ had killed it. Suddenly Chrono felt a pang of guilt wash over his stomach. He actually killed something. _I didn't mean to – kill it._ He carefully rose to his feet and backed away from the cliff.

He walked as he thought. _I didn't mean it. But that thing was trying to kill me, I'm sure! What would anyone else do? Yeah, it was self-defense: I had every right! But why do I still feel so guilty? – But I'm glad the creature is dead. I'm actually happy he's not around to bother me anymore… what does that mean? I'm not a sick person. Really I'm not! But at least he's – it's – not here anymore. Ha! Take that! You mess with me, that's what you get - - - dead._

Slowly he put his head in his hands. _What is happening to me? _He had no time to answer his question, for he finally saw his way down the cliff side. It distracted him enough to forget all about the blue creature for a moment. In a flash, Chrono ran down the path to the river, unaware that the forest above had sprung to life with a hundred creatures, watching the human escape to the village.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_No, I think he may have just been strange._

Two men sat next to each other at the counter, finding time to talk privately amidst the din of the inn. Perfect – the lights were low, not so much to be suspicious, but enough for seclusion.

_All Magus's spies are strange! That's why he was so dangerous._

The first man took a swig of ale and returned to the conversation. _Just because a man is different, it doesn't make him evil._

_That is true_, the second conceded, dipping his head, _but we cannot allow for that chance_.

_So, do you say we should kill every stranger?_

_No – but each one should be tested, for sure. It's a war of deception. Who's on our side? Who's on his? Even some of our own people could be spies. It's impossible to tell from sight._

_You are absolutely right. But a spy will be no good around here unless he is allowed to escape…_

The men were interrupted by the entrance of a particularly loud-stepped visitor. All eyes in the inn went right to him. To say he stood out would be disrespectful as well as understatement. He seemed to come from a place far away from Truce, farther than anything on this continent.

His dress gave the inn-goers their first distasteful impression. Not that they disapproved of fur – but to them, a wearer of fur was rich or a fool, or both. This stranger was covered head to foot with dead animal. One look at his face and all would assume the man had never heard of shaving, bushy brown hair protruding from facial crevasses that still hadn't been named. All in all, though, he kept good upkeep of himself – surely he washed and bathed… once a month. Of course, his dirty appearance could be blamed on his long, hard toil across distant lands, but nobody had the eyes to see that. He was sure no one would mess with him. After all his hard life, he had grown used to toil and suffering, and took take out ten men with one blow if need be – and he looked it.

The man sat down at an empty stool, and the townsfolk nearby squirmed in discomfort. "I need something good, quick! Whaddya recommend?"

The bartender stared the stranger down for a moment, then hurried to the cellars. Moments later he returned, rolling a barrel to the counter. "So, Toma, what brings you here now? I heard you were on the other side of the continent in search of your next paycheck." He bent down and produced a fresh glass of ale. "Or did you finish?"

"Aha!" the stranger laughed, "you mean that shell they're all talking about down in Dorino. No matter where I look, I can't seem to find it."

"Tough luck, friend." The bartender leaned on the counter. "So, why are you here? It's not about Leene, is it?"

"Matter of fact, it is!"

"The king hired you to find her, of course."

"Hired!" the stranger let loose a guffaw. "He begged me to find her on his knees!" The stranger glanced both ways suspiciously for a moment, then continued in lower tones. "I suppose that's only funny because it's the first time anyone, a king no less, threw himself at _my_ feet."

"Good thing you found her, then. The king was near suicidal without her."

"I found her? When did I do that?"

"You didn't find her?"

"Would I be here if I found her? If I found her, I would take my pay and leave – you know that much."

"Yes, Toma, you never stay in one place for very long."

The two men shared a congenial laugh, then the stranger spoke again. "All right, so tell me. Who found the Queen? I was only hired last night, and I know I'm not good enough to find her in my sleep."

"I don't know who found her, but she's back. Apparently she was up north, in the mountains. Good thing they found her so soon – there's mystics up in the forest. Lots of them. They're the little kind; you could kill about twenty of them in a couple of minutes and not break a sweat. But, Leene? You know she's a strong and able woman, but she's incapable of defending herself."

" - Why the King was so desperate."

"Yes. We were worried Magus had found her and had locked her away. You know what he does to prisoners."

"I've heard horror stories, but I don't believe a word. I mean, I've heard everything from torture stories to cannibalism." The stranger winked. "I'm sure Leene is a delicious thing, but she's not that tasty."

The bartender didn't laugh. "Oh, she's a gorgeous one. But at least she was unharmed. The strangest thing is, what on earth was she doing in the mountains?"

"I haven't any idea. I would have guessed she had gone west. She always heads to that one cathedral to pray, right? I would have bet my life and my left lung she was ambushed and captured somewhere over there. Are you sure they really found the Queen in those hills?"

"No. I never saw her – I just hear word. With all the strange folk coming in, I hear lots of words."

Just then the craziness of the inn was interrupted by the entrance of yet another stranger, and this time, everyone stopped their conversations to look.

Not even Toma was as strange as the boy who walked in. He seemed lost, searching back and forth for any sign of familiarity. Nobody could really make out his features while he stood in the doorway, but they were sure he wasn't from Truce. This boy might be from another world. Compared to the earthy grays, browns, and greens of the villagers, this boy's clothes belonged with the rich – hints of red, blue, orange. And even though nobody in this inn bothered to style their hair, the boy looked as though he had purposely stuck in straight up and allowed it to fall in any direction it wished.

The boy staggered to the front desk. At his approach, the lady behind the counter took two steps back. Then the boy started talking to her, but nobody could hear what he said. He looked beaten, as if he had come from a fight. Not one person showed any concern, if they even cared inside, but everyone wondered what brought the bruised boy in. Before anyone could create a satisfying answer, the boy reached into his pants, produced some money, and limped upstairs to bed.

The bartender was the first to return to normal conversation. "Well, Toma, there's an interesting fella. Friend of yours? You two seem like you could get along."

The first stranger put his ale back on the counter. "It's been nice to return, but I have to go. Seems I'm not the stranger anymore. I can't stand being out of the center of attention. Well, I'm off." He pushed the stool back and strode out of the inn.

_More strangers? What did I tell you?_

_It's a sad day when we have to track our brother's every move._

_What about the red-topped boy? He doesn't look suspicious to you? Well, I'll tell you one thing, he's not escaping as long as I'm around._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono lay in the bed on the verge of sleep. _I still don't know where I am_. The nice lady at the counter had told him this was Truce Inn. _Truce Inn? That's impossible. I live in Truce – and this is definitely not my home. This has to be a dream – a nightmare. Or, I was pulled into an alternate reality. After all, these people look like real people – only different._

He sat up. There was no way sleep would come easy. _I wonder why the lady let me stay so cheap. Fifty silver coins for a night? No way she can make a profit with that kind of price. I mean, it cost me two gold coins for this bandana._ Unconsciously he removed the bandana and placed it at the bedpost. _I am going to wish I had brought a change of clothing real soon. I wonder if this place even has a bath. – Oh well, I guess I'll have to get used to being dirty for a while._ He began untying his vest and removing his shoes. _Oh, shoot! I forgot to lock the door! Just imagine if someone snuck in here. _In one motion he leapt from the bed to the door. _What is this? No lock? What am I going to do about this?_ Chrono scratched his head, his face contorted in confusion. Suddenly he had an idea.

He sprang to the bed. Good. It wasn't nailed down. As tight as he could, he gripped the bedpost and pulled with all his might. Slowly but surely the bed began to move across the floor. Just a few more feet and the door would be blocked. _There! Good, now I'll have some privacy. _He removed the rest of his clothes and hopped under the safety of the blanket. _Now if I could only get to sleep._

Chrono kept trying to get some rest, but every time he closed his eyes, his brain exploded with this disastrous situation. _There's no way back home. There's no way for Lucca to follow me or find me. The girl is gone – with her personality, she won't last a day – and I am lost._ For the first time that day – night – Chrono felt personal responsibility for this girl. After all, he was the one who agreed to lead a stranger around (or be led by a stranger); he was the one who showed her Lucca's invention. In fact, had he simply ignored the girl, Lucca's Telepod show would have run smoothly, and nothing awkward would have happened. And Chrono did not feel any better knowing be had been a gentleman and followed the strange girl into the portal. _The right thing! The right thing! Ah! Who cares if it was right or wrong? The situation still sucks._

After an hour of dizzying thoughts and revelations, Chrono finally nodded off – but he could have sworn he heard footsteps pacing outside his door.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Only one person had followed Toma's lead. Of course, neither had met the other, but both were alike in that they both were smart enough to learn the truth. Leene was here, he was sure. She had come here a week ago and was never seen since. Oh yes, searches were conducted, teams organized, and so on and so forth. But they never found anything. These abductors were too smart for that.

Like a shadow, he crept up to the door. There was no way he would enter through it – too obvious – but it was nice to know which end was the front and which end was the back. He glanced both ways, watching every shadow. For even the shadows were watching him as the stole up the wall. Nearby an owl let loose a great hoot. He froze – not even the owl could know he was here. Slowly he regained the confidence to move. Inch by inch, he crawled to the highest window.

He grappled the edge of the window. There was no way this side of the kingdom this thing would open by natural means. He let one hand off the sill for a moment, pulling a dagger-like object out of his cloak. With the stealth of night, he slit the window four times – whoosh! – and pressed gently against it. Triumphantly he smiled as his eyes spied little cracks appearing. He was in!

He made sure than when he pushed out his little hole, the glass didn't fall all the way to the floor. People would hear that shattering all the way in Truce – not to mention in the building. First one foot, then an arm, poked through the window into the rafters. Next his other foot, another arm, the whole body. He made the initial mistake of looking down to gauge his height. All he could say was that he was high enough to cause some serious bodily harm if he fell.

Now would come the boring part. Waiting. Eventually, someone, somewhere, would have to come through these doors. These ladies here weren't of interest. But soon, something would come through – he knew it. There was a secret somewhere in the building, if not this very room.

Ladies came and went for an hour – still no sign. What was it? A secret switch on the wall? A button under the seat or behind the –

The organ! That was it! That had to be it – why were all these ladies up in the middle of the night? – And playing the organ! One of those tunes she was playing was a password. If he could only get that tune in his head. If he could memorize every last note! Then he would play it all as soon as they left. Somewhere in that melody was a combination of notes that unlocked a door somewhere.

He crouched down in the rafters. This would be an extremely long night…


	5. II: The Queen Returns 2

**The Queen Returns**

Chrono sat up with a start. Where was he? Oh yes – Truce Inn. The Truce Inn of a separate dimension – _or something._ First with one leg, then the other, he climbed out of bed. He rubbed his eyes – _I must have slept a long time. The sun is already up – probably has been for a few hours. In that case, I better get going. _He grabbed his clothes, neatly crumpled into a little ball on the floor. Yes, they were quite wrinkled and rumpled, but that would fit in nicely with the grungy traveler image.

With a self-condescending smirk, Chrono strode to the door. He tried to open it, but it just would not give more than an inch. He wasn't puzzled for long, once he remembered he had blocked the door last night. _Wake up, Chrono – you're a little loopy this morning – or afternoon. _Groggily he bent down and grasped the bedpost, but stopped before he made any more movement. _Wait! Why did I need to block this door?_ He thought of the footsteps outside his door last night.

Suddenly energized, he opened his door as far as the bed would allow – one inch. That was enough – there was someone outside his door, in the hall! The stalker seemed to be sleeping, sitting propped against the wall. That is, until his head rolled back, revealing his face. Most importantly, his eyes – they were open. Chrono stared in the face of his stalker, who pretended not to care about the red-topped spy.

Chrono slammed his door shut. _Could this adventure get any worse? Speaking of that – the girl. Marle! Ah, it's a lost cause now. I'll never be able to find her._ He backed away from his door, scratching his head. _Is there another way out of here? The window? No – I'm on the second story. But… maybe I could land that kind of fall. _He ran to the window and looked down. _No, I can't do a fall like that onto rock. But… _he looked up. _I could grab onto the edge of the roof and make my way over to… ah, it's no use. How do you open this window anyway? Is there a lever here… ah…_

Chrono stopped for a second of realization. It was a plan, if anything. Hesitantly at first, he pulled the window lever and squeaked open the window. _Not enough noise! _He slammed it shut. _Ah, I've got it! _With a triumphant grin, he took off his shirt. Then he proceeded to shove as much fabric as he could in between the window pane and frame. _Now, let's try! _He pulled the window lever. Slowly, and with great effort, he pushed the window. The glass groaned as it struggled against the shirt, stressing the wooden frame. _More noise! _Chrono kept pushing and pushing until, crack! – something broke. A wood beam, something in the window, he didn't know, or care.

_Now to wait. _As noiselessly as he could, he pulled the window shut and retrieved his shirt. Or, rather, tried – seems his clothing had jammed quite comfortably in the crack, and in his attempt to remove it, Chrono tore his shirt in half. He stared dumbfounded for a moment. _It was getting too small anyway._ He tossed the remains on the floor and returned to the window. After about three minutes (an hour to Chrono), he saw the form of his stalker creep by the side of the inn. _Good. He thinks I've gone out the window. _Chrono backed away – _I don't want to be seen, still inside – _and ran to his door. Bang! _Ah – the bed's still in the way._ With much effort he slid his bed to the side. Quietly he stole out of his room and downstairs.

"Good morning, sir." Chrono leapt six feet in the air at the words. "Did you sleep well?" Oh, it was only that lady at the desk. She seemed interested in Chrono's opinion, but the boy had no time to chat.

"No, I think I got an F," Chrono muttered under his breath, heading to the door.

"Oh?" was all the lady got out before the boy had gone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All heads turned to stare at the strange boy walking into the shop. Chrono didn't care about all the inquisitive looks; all he needed were some clothes… and fast. He had left both halves of his vest in the inn, and so now traipsed around in his undershirt, which was slashed and torn a few times in the back from the blue creature's claws. _This would be hilarious… if it weren't happening to me._

"Can I help you, sir?" the clerk at the counter asked. It was obvious that the clerk had specially memorized that phrase, because the look on his face betrayed an expression of "somebody contact the guards!" The clerk even backed away a few steps as Chrono came up.

"I need some clothes." _He can see that!_

"Well," the clerk nervously began, "what kind of outfit are you looking for?"

"Something intact."

"What?"

"Never mind. What do you suggest?"

"Hold on just a moment." The clerk retreated to another room and reappeared a few minutes later with a pile of clothing. "So, how long have you been in Truce?"

_Now he's making conversation._ "You're the second person now who's told me this is Truce."

The clerk looked puzzled for a moment. "Is that surprising?"

"Yes – I mean, no. Well, actually a little…" Chrono took the clothes. "How much?"

"Are you in some sort of hurry? You might want to see if they fit first."

"Ah." Chrono looked at the pile of fabric. A very dull pile of fabric. He was no fashion authority, but in the _real_ Truce, he would not be caught dead and burned with that earthy animal hide wrapped around his torso. On the top of the stack was a brown leather jacket which looked like it had been gently thrown in a mud puddle, stomped on, and then neatly ironed. Next was a pair of brown leather pants in about the same condition as the jacket. And so on, down the stack, brown leather everything.

With a sigh, Chrono took the stack of clothing to the back room. Shortly after, he returned in his new garb. Surprisingly, the clothes weren't dirty, as they looked. He could get used to this. In fact, aside from the spiky red hair, he could fit right in with the villagers – brown and ratty.

He grinned, despite his worn appearance, and sauntered toward the exit.

"Wait! You'll have to pay for that!" the clerk shouted, visibly irritated. "It's six gold coins."

_That's impossibly cheap. _He dug into his new pockets.

"If you want finer clothing, I have plenty of it. This is the cheap set – but you look like you need something fast anyway." The clerk seemed to be mumbling to himself now.

"Here." Chrono thumped six coins on the counter and sauntered to the door. Before he was through, he stopped and turned back to the counter, a new idea roasting in his brain. "What day is it?"

But the clerk had disappeared.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

No heads turned as Chrono came into the new shop – but then, there was no one in the shop. That was good. Even though his clothes disguised his origins well, there was no way everyone would mistake him for a villager. At least, he thought so.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?"

Chrono jumped as a clerk appeared from nowhere. "Can I help you?" Again, this clerk had the script memorized. But his expression read sincere.

"Yes."

The clerk waited for more. "What can I help you with?" He playfully smiled.

"Oh. I need a weapon." _Just in case I find another one of those blue things. Or maybe I'll be stalked by a madman._

"Even I would know that." The clerk gestured to his stock – all sorts of devices for injury. There was a pause as the clerk waited for a response. Finally – "do you know what kind of weapon you need?"

"Not really."

"Well, let's see, then. Have you any training with any kind of weapon?"

"Yes – I've taken a swordsmanship class."

"Pardon?"

"I've used a sword before."

"That's more like it. Follow me," the clerk hummed as he pulled Chrono to one wall. "So, what do you need a weapon for?"

"I… well…"

"Don't be so frightened. This isn't an interrogation, and you don't have to tell me if it's a big secret. It's just that lots of people are buying them now with the threat of a Mystic invasion."

"Mystics?"

The clerk pulled a dull brownish sword off the wall. "Yes. Magus's troops are on the move, and it's brought all the villagers in here for their safety – if you know what I mean. Here – I know this may not be the best kind of sword, but it's cheap and durable. The knights and soldiers get all the good ones."

The clerk held it out for Chrono, who took it enthusiastically. The boy bent over with the weight at first, but brought the sword up and took a few practice swings. It was a single-edged sword and looked far duller than it was. With a good clean, it could look like any other sword, impressively reflecting beams of light in all directions.

"It's a little heavy at first, but you'll get used to it. Made of iron – not the strongest metal, because it breaks under high pressure, but it's enough to take care of burglars, or a Mystic."

"Mystics?" Chrono prodded.

"Oh, don't let me forget. Here's your scabbard – you won't be able to carry that far without it."

" – thanks."

"Say, did you hear the good news?"

"What good news?" Chrono questioned, trying to get his sword in the sheath.

"The Queen's been found!"

"What?"

"Queen Leene. Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about."

"Oh! Right. The Queen. Sure." Chrono was still trying to put the sword away.

"She was found! The king was almost dead with worry over her. He thought Magus had got her. But you knew that – "

" – sure."

"And to think she was here the whole time."

Chrono dropped the sword. "Sorry?"

"You're forgiven." The clerk reached down to retrieve the sword. "Here. Oh, that costs twenty gold coins. I know that's expensive, but it's almost the cheapest one I have," he rambled, fitting the sword in the scabbard.

"What's this about the Queen?"

"She was found."

"I heard that. I mean, what's this about being found here?"

"Oh! Somebody up in the woods to the north found her. Nobody knows what she was doing there, but they rescued her right away! Good thing, too. Who knows if the king could make it without her."

Wordlessly, Chrono fitted the scabbard to his belt. Without making any eye contact, he produced twenty gold coins and handed them to the clerk. He held his head in his hands for a few seconds, as if he suddenly had a headache.

"What is today?"

"Tuesday!" the clerk called, waltzing behind the counter to secure his cash.

"No – I mean, what year is it?"

The clerk paused. "You're joking."

"No! I just need to know – what year is it?"

"600 A.D."

"Thanks!" Chrono called, rushing out the door.

There was a minute of stunned silence, before the clerk reacted. "What a strange young man," he mused, returning to his private room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono had walked nearly a half-mile before he realized he had no idea where he was going. He stopped and sat on a nearby stone.

_I've gone back in time? That's impossible! But, now it all makes sense – this is the war. I was sent back to the Mystic War! No wonder everything was so cheap – twenty gold coins? I could make a hundred of those in a month. And the way everyone was dressed – and their hairstyles. I am really in my homeland 400 years ago._

_And so is Marle. Oh – they've probably taken her to the castle! They've mistaken her for the missing queen - - - that makes no sense. Sure, she's a cute little thing, but, for heaven's sakes, she's not a queen! I've got to find her, and then we'll…_

_What? Go back through the portal? There's no way back. We're stuck here forever! Or at least until we die, whichever comes first. I hope Mom doesn't miss me too much…_

Chrono sighed and put his head in his hands. _It's hopeless. But at least I can try to find Marle. I think they'll figure out she isn't the real queen quite easily. I know I would – _he laughed in spite of his situation. In fact, he couldn't stop laughing – the kind of laugh that would land him in a straightjacket and a padded room. Soon he was rolling on the ground, slapping his knees, gasping for breath. _This is not funny! _Still he laughed. _Imagine, Marle – the queen! Catch her if you can! It's the mad disappearing girl – faster than lightning! Ha ha! _He clutched his chest. _Stop laughing before you pass out._

Nearly five minutes later, his guffaws and giggles began to peter out, until he lay panting on the ground. His last thought before he drifted into a fitful sleep – _I'll find her tomorrow…_

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another one - I'll make this as short as I can.

First, the subject of editing. I am completely aware that this is not a perfect document. There are probably tons of errors I have missed. Thank you for pointing them out in reviews. I will keep track of them, because eventually I will edit each and every chapter. But I can't edit yet - I know myself. If I start editing now, I'll never continue the story. So, just keep in mind, I will eventually fix the pesky typos and continuity flaws (point them out nicely, please).

Also, I am aware that there are several things in the game that hinge on choices made by the characters (the most obvious being about Magus). In most cases, I have decided what the characters will do. Please send your opinions on these - I probably won't change my mind, but I just want to know. (Another example: will the characters do any or all sidequests at the end of the game... story?)

Now, about the story, you'll notice more changes. Let me explain myself (if you don't care, you can stop reading). I wanted to make Toma's character a little more important than it is in the game, as his story pertains to the Rainbow Shell quest later on. I am trying not to drag this tale on and on and on, but there are a lot of new characters that show up in this time period, and they all return - so I want to give them some development now. I hope you don't get bored waiting for the action... (if action is what you're reading for, stop: you'll see the genre is GENERAL/FANTASY)

That's all - I will update as much as possible before the schoolyear hits.


	6. III: The Queen is Gone 1

**Chapter III: The Queen is Gone**

Chrono awoke with the sun – finally refreshed from a good night's sleep. He stretched and yawned, rubbed his eyes, and put one foot out of bed.

At least, he tried to put one foot out of bed, until he remembered he never slept in a bed, or even in a building. _What am I doing way out here in the open? What possessed me to run away – wherever I am now… _he crawled to his feet and examined his surroundings. _Oh yes. How did I forget. I was sent back in time…_

_Marle!_

Chrono quickly came to his senses thinking of the girl. _She's still the queen! I've got to find her – the castle! If they find out she isn't the queen, then… what?_

He started running, but stopped and thought better. _Maybe I should at least find out where the castle is first. Better yet – I should wait until they find out she isn't the real queen; then, when she's kicked out, I'll come and pick her up. That's a whole lot easier on me… no. That's not right – what am I going to say? "Sorry – I could have found you sooner, but I wanted to make sure you were thrown out first." I don't think she'd like that._

_I guess I'll have to play hero again._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

By the time Chrono finished arguing with himself, and had found and reached the castle, the sun had already passed noon. _What should I do – knock? _He hesitated in front of the door. _Maybe they'll just notice and let me in. Or I could open the door on my own… _the bright red door towered over the boy at about twelve feet and seemed to be smelted of solid steel. _It's a big door, but I should be able to open it._

He was just about to act bravely and test his strength when the two halves of the door slowly (and loudly) opened on their own. Seeing this as an invitation, Chrono came in – only to be greeted quickly by the door guards, dressed in full armor.

"Halt! Who goes there?" they shouted in rehearsed unison.

_Ah… my name is Chrono, and I've come because I'm afraid your queen is really someone I just met who lives in the future, and I'm going to pick her up and take her back._

"Um…"

"Tongue-tied, son?" one guard chuckled.

"Quite a haircut there – you one of Magus's troops?" the other joined in.

"No, he's just a stray cat. Go home, son – we can't allow you in." The guards grabbed Chrono by each arm and were ready to lead him out when they were halted by a command:

"Hey!" Chrono recognized the voice. "Hey! Stop – don't throw him out!"

"M'lady!" The two guards released Chrono and knelt on the spot. "We just apprehended a stranger, uh…"

"This is my friend! Let him in!" The lady who came down to meet them was most certainly their queen. She wore a long, flowing green dress which perfectly showed off her looks. Her reddish-blonde hair was pulled back in the shape of a fan, which must have been some kind of beauty for the time – but Chrono thought it absolutely hideous. And the way she carried herself – that was the clue. No queen would act so rambunctiously… she seemed to be a foreigner in the dress, pulling at various pieces as if they were too tight, or too thick. She also had a strange look… her green cat-eyes seemed to be calling for help, as if the woman were imprisoned in her own body.

"Yes, M'Lady."

_Marle! I'm sure of it. At least, she can't be the queen._

The "queen" gave Chrono a puzzling but friendly look as she whirled around and glided away as queenly as she could. Chrono had to fight back a laugh.

"Sorry about that, son. But we're on our guard with Magus's troops breathing down our necks," the first guard said.

"That's all right…" he whispered.

"Wow – what a privilege it must be to be called the Queen's friend!" the other sighed. "You can go in. We won't stop you."

Chrono gave both guards a look of forgiveness, then headed up the stairs after the queen in the manliest walk he could muster.

He barged through the nearest door – and stopped. Suddenly all eyes were on the rude stranger. Chrono could see he had just run into the throne room – evidenced by the two lavish chairs at the far end. Both were now occupied. There were other people in the room, but being a stranger in more than one respect, Chrono had no chance at naming them.

"Who is this?" the man on the left throne demanded. He was obviously the King. Aside from the fact he was wearing a crown, his demeanor read as kingly to Chrono. He wasn't young, but he wasn't old – he must have been between thirty and forty. His eyes flashed and his face stood rigid, but Chrono could see that underneath the mask of irritation, the king could look soft and gentle.

The queen looked at him and said something Chrono could not hear.

"What? Oh – he's your rescuer," the King said to himself. Then, to Chrono, "I'm sorry if I insulted you. But please, this is a private discussion." The queen whispered in his ear again. "My queen has offered her room. You may stay there until the feast." He took his queen's hand and gently began massaging it, which angered Chrono, though he didn't know why. "Chancellor, please show this man to the room."

Chrono expected to see a stately man, well built, to escort him. But, nothing so far had gone to his expectations, and the chancellor was merely another example. He was extremely short – maybe five feet tall if he wore elevator shoes. He appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, but Chrono guessed he looked older because of the grumpy look the chancellor seemed to put on every morning with his clothing. That, and the white hair, and long white beard which threatened to tickle his navel. To add to this comical picture, he wore a cute little cap on his head, which covered nothing, but bounced with his every step until Chrono was sure it would fly right off. "Come – come!" the chancellor ordered in a sharp, raspy voice. He immediately took off, with Chrono following at a comfortable distance (about five yards).

The chancellor wound through so many passages that Chrono began to doubt he knew where they were going. But soon he stopped and waved his hand down one hall, cap shaking back and forth. "The queen's room is at the end of this hall."

"What – "

"Do not bother me." With that, the chancellor spun on his heels, robes flying in all directions, and dashed away.

" – feast?"

_Never mind – I'll just make myself at home,_ Chrono thought, going to the room. He slipped in quietly. _Good, no one's here. Now I can just wait until – _

"Oh! Who are you, and what are you doing in the Queen's room?" Chrono jumped at the voice.

_Be calm! It's only a maid! _"Er… the King, I mean the Queen, she said I could come…"

"Oh?"

"Yes. I was invited up here until the… feast."

Silence.

"May I ask you something? What is this feast about?"

The maid gave him a queer look. "You're staying here, and you don't know?"

"I don't."

"Poor thing. You don't seem to remember we just found our Queen again. That is enough of an excuse to celebrate."

"Ah… thank you."

The maid smirked. "You're welcome," she cawed, strutting out the door.

_Now what have I gotten myself into?_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Once several lonely hours were dead and gone, Chrono was again led through all sorts of hallways. Only, this time, he was heading toward the feast. "You are a very lucky man," the guide chattered. Chrono rolled his eyes. "The queen specially requested that you be present at this feast. I don't know how she knows you, but you are a fortunate man to be her friend. I have been here for six years and I do not have as great a position in her eyes. She is very kind to me, but I cannot be called her friend…" The guide rambled all the way down to the banquet hall.

Like the whole of the castle, the hall was beautiful. Immense chandeliers hung from a sky-high ceiling, illuminating the whole of the room in white and gold. (How they were lit, Chrono did not dare to guess.) Tables and chairs, ornately carved, sat arranged in patterns around the room. There were tablecloths of white, red, gold, and blue – candles on every one of them. And then there were the people! Chrono recognized a few… the King, the Queen, the guards… the chancellor.

When the Queen saw Chrono, her eyes lit up. She said something to the King, then broke from him and ran to her friend. Everyone stopped short and watched their elegant Queen in a mad dash across the room. In a normal situation, Chrono would find this a hokey romantic scene. Right now, he felt more like a cornered animal. He braced himself for an impact.

It never came. She stopped short of him, suddenly very queenly. The whole room came alive again, as if the incident never happened – though everyone gave the Queen and her guest suspicious stares.

"Sir, come and sit by me!"

Chrono's eyes went wide. "What?"

She cleared her throat. "I've requested that you sit next to me."

"But I…"

"Come on!" The Queen spun around, nearly decapitating Chrono with her dress, then sped away to her husband. (This time no one bothered to gawk.) Chrono hesitantly followed, genuinely interested in the offer, but unnerved at the thought of sitting so close to royalty.

The king did his best to be friendly towards his strange guest, but he could not hide that hint of jealousy as he greeted Chrono. "My queen requests her rescuer sit by her? It shall be done." He kissed his queen's hand, eyes always on the stranger. Then he straightened to address the guests.

"Everyone! Let us dine and celebrate the safe return of my wife, your Queen Leene!" With that, the guests scrambled for their chairs. Chrono still stood until Leene motioned for him to sit.

No sooner he had pulled the chair back than he heard a deep voice – "Excuse me, but that is my seat." Chrono turned to face a tower of a man. In truth the man wasn't so much taller than Chrono, but he held himself high and proud until everyone else became tiny insects. The man had a penetrating gaze, black eyes boring into souls and drawing them in. He might have been a comfortable man, had he been a friend. But being a stranger, he frightened Chrono with one look.

"Oh… Captain," Leene smiled. "The arrangements have changed. This man is sitting next to me. Everyone will have to move to the left."

The captain seemed to accept this graciously. "My apologies, M'lady, Sir." He then whispered something to the man next to Chrono, who got up, rather confused, and headed to the next seat. The next man also rose, and so on and so forth until the man at the end was forced off the table. He gave a stunned look at everyone, then huffed off to find another seat.

The captain sat heavily and folded his arms in front of him on the table. Chrono couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at those mighty arms – easily twice the thickness of his own. He felt very small sitting next to such a powerful man. _I'd hate to be between him and his goals._

Once everyone was seated, the doors behind Chrono burst open and a pot of cooks poured out. Merrily they hurried around the room and smothered the tables with all sorts of confections – roast duck and goose, wild pigs, gigantic, steaming salads, fresh potatoes and corn, and most important of all! – the wine!

_Ah – I hate wine! But at least I can eat real food now._

Chrono was about to dig right in when a clatter to his left startled him. He looked and saw the captain with a bowl of soup in his lap. Or – a previously full bowl of soup, upside down, in his lap. Apparently, one of the cooks mishandled the food – as the captain pointed out ever so loudly, drawing the attention of the entire table.

He threw off the bowl and whirled around to face the cook, who backed away knowing full well what would come next. "You are always clumsy with me! You work and work for them, but you cannot respect me!" he growled. "I have had it with you and your grumbling and fumbling!"

"You!" the cook responded, suddenly angry. "You sit there so importantly and gloat at me just because you became the all-powerful Captain! Ha – so you think you can just yell and make me tremble in my boots, huh? I've been yelled at for twenty years – don't think I don't know how to stand up by now!"

The captain was not moved. "You spilled this food on purpose – just to embarrass me! Do you think I have to take your sniveling?" He shoved the cook back and stomped away, the front of his robes wet with soup.

Chrono watched wordlessly as the cook composed himself and left through the big kitchen doors. After a minute, he returned to his food, but could not find much energy left to eat.

He was awakened from his stupor by the man across from him. "So, young man. Young man! Ahem – Queen Leene tells us you were her rescuer."

_Trying to make conversation, I see. Best to play along… _"Yes." _Not exactly a lie. But I don't want to get Marle in trouble._

"Tell us about it! Where did you find her?"

"…"

"We heard she was up in the north. Imagine that – with those Mystics!"

"…"

Leene joined the conversation, saving Chrono from the trouble of defending himself. "Yes. I was in the north." She sounded very regal. "This man was out, what was it…"

"Traveling?" Chrono ventured. _That is the truth… except you left out the part about the time portal._

"I am glad he found me. But now that I am back, we should discuss more important business." She winked at Chrono. "I've been gone so long, I've forgotten the most recent news on the war."

The man across from Chrono piped up again. "You were only missing a few days – "

"That's long enough!" Leene giggled – then cleared her throat, suddenly embarrassed.

Soon the topic of discussion drifted toward the war against the Mystics. Chrono remained silent, drawing every bit of information in that he could. _At least we're done talking about my rescue mission. Marle sure saved me from either a huge lie, or a disastrous truth!_

He poked at his roast duck. _When is this stupid dinner going to be over?_


	7. III: The Queen is Gone 2

**The Queen is Gone**

King Guardia sat hunched on his throne, more than satiated. He held his stomach – and his tongue. _Just who is this newcomer who is stealing my wife away? _With a grunt he slammed an open palm on the armrest of his throne. A sharp whack! – resounded throughout the empty room. Unlit torches hung on the walls, bathing the king in a brood of darkness as equally unsettling to him as his own mood.

_What am I thinking? After all, this young Chrono saved my wife! He should be honored, not insulted. And my wife is only paying respects to the man who rescued her… this man, this Chrono. He is a mystery. He does not seem to respect my queen's affections, but… he acts as if he has known her longer than one night. I will have to discuss things with Leene myself._

He was interrupted by quick, light footsteps. His queen! She seemed uncertain – probably because he not taken the time to light the grand throne room, and she could not find her way. Well, he would help her, at least.

"Leene?" called the king.

"Ah!" he could hear her jump. "Oh. It's you, sire. I'm sorry."

"Sire?" Guardia choked. "I am your husband!"

"You just scared me, that's all. I mean, it's positively pitch-black in here!"

The king didn't waste a beat. "I need to see you. In my quarters. Privately."

Leene suddenly hesitated. "Wh – what?"

"Only for a moment, but if you're not feeling well, that is…"

"No, no, I… I came down for the boy."

"Chrono? He is resting in the room beside my chambers." No response. "Then – can you, or, will you, join me in my quarters?"

Leene was hesitant. "First, may I see the boy?"

Everything in him told the king to say _NO!_, but he erred on the side of mercy. After the world's longest and most tense instant, he spoke. "Yes. I give you my permission."

"Thank you!" Leene burst and looked into the king's eyes for the first time, and only for the briefest moment – before she dashed up the stairs and out of sight.

Those were foreign eyes! Those were not his queen's eyes! "Oh – God!" he screamed into the once again empty room, hands on his head. "Then who are you?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Leene stole quietly into another dark room – but this time she was excited. "Chrono!" she hissed. "Chrono, wake up!"

She heard a sudden shuffle, and saw a flash – a glint of moonlight from something metallic. "Hey! It's me!" she squealed. The glint disappeared and a shape crept to the opposite wall, where it lighted the first torch.

A small orb of light illuminated the room – a very small, sparse room at that. Aside from the bed, and a large clothing chest, there was no furniture. This must have been the spare room, fitting for the Guardian stranger while being beneath even his dignity. Chrono himself was covered in a light nightgown (or, as he thought, a tablecloth with a few holes cut in strategic places). At least he was prepared – with his iron sword pointed straight at the Queen.

"Sorry, M'Lady." Chrono shamefully sheathed his sword, returned to the bed and plopped down with a painful squeak.

"I didn't mean to frighten you, Chrono," said the Queen.

_What does she want now? _"Forgive me for asking, M'Lady – but why are you here?"

"Chrono, haven't you figured it out?"

_Yes. _"Figured what out?"

"Don't you know who I am?"

_Yes – Marle. _"No."

The Queen giggled, then knelt beside Chrono. "You don't recognize me?"

_Marle! _"…"

"It's me! Marle! You can be real obtuse when you want to!" She giggled again.

Chrono did his best to look surprised.

"Yeah. They seem to think I'm some sort of queen now," Marle grimaced. Chrono was shocked – in as little time as he'd seen her, she'd never stooped to frowning. The mood didn't last long before she grinned again, revealing bright white teeth that flashed in the dim light. "Thanks for coming to rescue me!"

_I – well, you're welcome. _"Yeah…"

"Why – why did you come back for me, anyway?"

_I saw you get sucked through that portal, and I knew this was my big chance, I guess. I mean, I could be like those great heroes of the past – the now – and… _"I – it was the right thing!"

Marle paused for a moment. "Oh – I should have known a person like you would do the right thing! Thanks!" She stood again, now serious. "But you gotta help me!"

_I can – and I will. _"Help you?"

"Don't be silly. Everyone thinks I'm a Queen! I can't be a Queen – and I'm not even married! I'm hardly sixteen! What do you expect me to do, rule a kingdom?"

_Sorry. I didn't mean to insult you. _"No."

"C'mon – you gotta get me outta here!"

_Done. _"How?"

"I don't know! But I can't just walk out the door!" Marle began pacing, and she looked like she was fighting tears. "Chrono, what do I do?"

_I want to help – but I don't know how! _"I – don't know."

Marle knelt abruptly, breathing quickly and deeply. "Chrono, I'm scared!"

_I can understand – so am I – _"Why?"

"Chrono, don't pretend you don't know!" With that, she glared at him, suddenly very pale.

_Now what? _"What's wrong?"

Marle clutched at her chest. "I – " she gasped. "I'm having trouble breathing."

_No. That's not it. _"What? Why is that?"

"I don't know," she groaned, "but it feels like – like my insides are being sucked out!"

_And your outsides, too – you're looking very pale, almost transparent – _"Wha… I…"

"Chrono, help! I'm being torn apart!" Now she grabbed her head and lay prostrate on the floor. In a flash, Chrono leapt from the bed to her and scooped her up in his arms. Or rather, he tried to scoop her up – but his arms passed through her form on the ground. He was kneeling there – on top of her, but his legs were on the ground. Frantically he began pounding the stones where she lay, each time, his hand striking the floor beneath Marle. He threw himself at the floor, lying in the same position and location as the girl as she disappeared. She let loose one last wail, and then was gone.

Chrono came to himself again at the sound of hurried footsteps. "Hey! What is going on down there? Queen Leene?" It was that lousy maid again, Chrono could tell. _I do **not** need this now._ She burst into the room brandishing a blazing torch. "What have you done to her?" she bellowed, the torch fire coming out her eyes.

In an awful moment, Chrono jumped to his feet and snatched the torch from the maid, staring her down. He then shoved her aside, into the wall, and ran down the hallway. "Stop! After him! Someone! After him!"

That entire end of the castle sprang to life at the maid's scream. _Now you've done it – you've lost the girl not once, but twice, and the whole castle is up in arms over you. _Chrono leapt over the stairs and across to the throne room – which, surprisingly, was empty. _Why isn't anyone here? _Chrono thought, stopping short.

"Stop it! Let go! I can **prove** she's not the real Queen!" he could hear faintly through the thick double-doors in front of him. Lucca! He had no time to think – even now the guards upstairs were barreling down for him. Without thinking, he burst through the doors on the three figures, grabbed the girl, and charged out into the open midnight air.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Wait – how did you get in the castle?" Lucca complained from the hiding spot not too far away, in the underbrush. "I didn't make it farther than the front door – both times!" She seemed dressed for the occasion, in timely garb – drab brown. She also wore a cap covering her inconspicuously bright purple hair. However, she still donned the specs, making her deep blue eyes bulge oddly out of proportion.

"What I want to know is – how did you follow me? I have the pendant! There's no way you could have..." Chrono withdrew the jewel from his pants pocket.

"Oh – " Lucca stared at the pendant a moment. "I guess I should explain everything, huh? Anyway, what I say may shock you, but – we've gone back in time!"

"I knew that already. I've been here three days, and I'm not that stupid." He sat down with a sigh against a tree

"Well, then it's not so shocking anymore, is it? I managed to construct an activator – a Gate Key, if you will, using the Telepod. The portal that you opened? I reopened it with this!" – she procured a whitish disk. "Basically, I redesigned the emissions from this starter to recreate the effect of the pendant. You understand. Once I figured out I had traveled through time, I went back home to study up on this part of history. It only took a few hours."

Chrono nodded.

"I came up here this morning, but the guards threw me out right away. Then I realized I was still wearing my futuristic dress, and I figured it would be best to change. I came back here and was in the process of being booted again when you showed up back there."

Lucca paused, then sat down next to Chrono. "So, did you find the girl?"

"Marle? Yes."

"Okay, then. Where is she?"

"Well… she's gone."

Lucca jumped up. "What do you mean, gone? You came all this way, and lost her again?"

"No! No! I… they thought she was the queen! And I came to rescue her, and she disappeared!"

"Ah ha!"

"What?"

"Just as I thought!" Lucca rubbed her hands vigorously. "She was mistaken for Leene, who – let me guess – is still missing."

"I don't understand what you're getting at," said Chrono, pulling himself to his feet.

"The girl – Marle – is not who you think she is."

"I don't need suspense."

"She's Princess Nadia!"

"Okay."

Lucca stared at her friend. "I thought you would be surprised at that."

"Nothing could surprise me now."

"Okay. Let's go back to Truce – your mom's waiting."

"What?"

"Oh look. You were surprised."

"Not funny, Lucca." Chrono glared at her. "So, continue…"

"Yes. Anyway, Nadia looks so much like Leene that everyone must have thought they were one and the same!"

"I knew that as well."

"Don't get impatient here! Now, Leene has been kidnapped. If you've been studying your history you should know that. The Mystics got her. She was eventually found, of course."

"Of course. Go on before the Millennial Fair comes around."

"Here's where it gets tricky," Lucca began pacing, eyes flashing. "See, they all thought Nadia was the real Queen, so they abandoned their search." She paused.

"Do you need an answer?" her friend asked after a beat.

"A simple 'what does that mean' will do!"

Chrono sighed. "What does that mean," he grumbled.

"Well, duh silly! If the Queen isn't rescued, the Mystics will kill her – and if Nadia is a descendent of Leene?"

"No Nadia. I get it…"

"I was supposed to say that!" Lucca interjected. "Now, because Leene is in danger, time, or fate, or whatever, said that Nadia cannot exist – "

"So, she disappeared."

"Stop interrupting my explanation!"

"Sorry."

Presently Lucca stopped pacing and stared Chrono right in the eye. "So, if we want to rescue the girl?"

Chrono was silent.

"You can answer this one."

"Oh. We rescue the Queen."

"Good – you're just getting it! So, you know where she is, right?"

Chrono scratched his head. "Actually, no."

"The cathedral, silly!" Lucca slapped her friend playfully upside the head. "You've heard of it, right?"

"Yes," Chrono grinned.

"Well, that's where they kept her – where they are keeping her. Supposedly, there was a secret underground base for the Mystics that had existed for years under the building until about now."

"Sure. I get it."

"And it's up to **us** to save her – everyone else still thinks Nadia is, or was, the real Queen! Oh - you'll need a weapon."

Chrono said nothing but drew his sword in front of his friend, flashed it a few times, then sheathed it again.

"Ah. That's a real nice sword. But you should have brought something from home. At least there you can get something useful. Oh well, it's too late now - if we go back we might not rescue Leene in time."

"Excuse me?"

"That's right – you were stuck here. Well, I brought this from home – it's one of my little inventions." She held up a pistol-sized firearm painted bright orange. "A homemade, air-powered tranquilizer dart gun! And I brought this – " she pulled out a kitchen knife – "just in case I run out of ammunition." Chrono contained his laugh, but barely.

His friend continued. "Well, what are we waiting for? Shouldn't we be saving the Queen? You know where we're going, right?"

"Right."

"Then let's go!"

Chrono didn't move.

"Hint: I want you to lead."

"Ah. Sorry," he chuckled, then trudged away.

"Faster!" At her command, Chrono broke into a sprint. "Wait, not that fast! Wait up, Chrono!" But he was already out of sight through the underbrush.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this took a while to update...

Don't forget - this is basically a rough draft you're reading right now (well, about two minutes ago - now you're reading the author's note). However, (to repeat myself) I will not edit yet - much as I want to. But that does not mean that you cannot point out any gaping errors in the story.

Which brings me to - gaping errors. Point them out, please. I tend not to notice my own mistakes. So, if I make a typo, an error in character development (like I say Chrono's hair is red in chapter 1 and blue in chapter 3), or a huge plot hole, I will not cry if you tell me. I might get upset, however, if you say "Chrono actually had and Iron BLADE, not a sword."

I hope I'm not dragging this story out. But then again, it is not an action fic as much as a fantasy fic, so if it takes me four chapters to get to the first battle, that's okay, right?" If I'm getting too involved in the story (which, I have to say, is the best RPG story I have ever seen - the only other one that comes close is FF6) let me know - because, frankly, I love this story...

Mission316


	8. IV: Knights of Guardia 1

**Chapter IV: Knights of Guardia**

"Sire! Sire, do not lose control – now, tell me again just what happened."

The knight captain sat at the head of his official table. Usually the table was surrounded by knights of courage and valor. But tonight it was empty but for the captain and his King, who sat both composed and undone a few seats down. The low lighting gave death to the sinister night, and the two lowered their voices – and their heads.

"Leene is missing – " the king began.

"Are you sure? I remember we found her a few days ago. Now you're telling me she is gone again?" The captain stood and moved to the king.

"Yes. But no."

That stopped the knight captain short. "I don't understand, sire – " his eyes flashed. "Is it the strange boy? He took her, didn't he…"

"No!" the king raised a hand. "If there is one thing I believe, the boy is innocent. He must be someone from her past." He was staring into the dark empty space.

"Sire?"

"Captain Roland – The woman we found was not the Queen."

"She was an impostor?"

"That is a possibility. But I think the truth is we found some poor, stray girl who happened to look like Leene. The boy, Chrono – he must have been her true husband - yes, and he came to the castle to rescue her."

"No – she was an impostor. A mystic in disguise." Captain Roland now stood and gripped the back of his chair. "It's the perfect plan – Magus kidnaps Queen Leene. He sends a fake into the castle. We stop our search for the real Leene, and he is free to do anything to her that he wishes."

"Then, who was the boy?"

"The boy does not matter. He is gone, and the mystic is as well. But so is your wife. Now think very carefully where she was last."

The king stared ahead, watching scenes from his past. "She never truly said where she was going. But she habitually goes to the Cathedral out west to pray once a week. When she left, I assumed she went there – but she never returned."

"So, you think she is in the Cathedral?"

"No."

Roland gazed through the king's eyes. He gritted his teeth and planted his palms in the table. "I'll round up the available knights," he sighed. "We'll go to the Cathedral again."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was several hours before Chrono and Lucca found the Cathedral, and once they did, they couldn't understand how they missed it. From far away, it looked large. From a closer distance, it looked colossal. The bell tower seemed to pierce the night sky, threatening to overcome the moon. Each door and window was designed to fit someone easily twice as large as Chrono – in all three dimensions. Yet, the architecture appeared just right for any normal human. The two rescuers froze underneath the great entry, unsure of whether the door might swallow them up if they opened it.

After a moment of standing in shock, they realized that one of them would have to go first to open the door, and hoped the other would take the first step. When neither one moved, they looked at each other, as if to say _all right, we'll do it together._ In a rehearsed motion, the two strode to the door. It opened quite easily and noiselessly, and both of them began to wonder what had been so intimidating. However, their reception convinced them they had walked into a trap.

As soon as Chrono and Lucca took their first synchronized step into the building, all eyes turned on them. Four pairs of eyes – from the most freakish women they had ever seen. By all appearances, they were the nuns, or at least they dressed such. On any normal occasion, there would be nothing frightening about the nuns besides their haggard faces. But it seemed to the rescuers the nuns had waited for their arrival, and were morbidly excited to see them.

At once the four ghostly figures began to make themselves as hospitable as possible in their nightmarish outfits. Like an army, they marched towards their visitors. "Travelers!" one of them half-cooed, half-growled. Chrono and Lucca jumped back at the noise. "Anyone is welcome here."

"We can give you a place to… stay," a second crowed.

"You must be weary from a long journey," a third joined in.

Lucca grimaced. "Actually, yes, we are quite tired, but we – "

"Good, then!" the first rejoined. "Let me show you to your room…"

"No!" Lucca gasped, shaking her head. "We're looking for – "

"A place to stay, yes?" the four ethereal figures moved to surround the girl, taking their eyes off Chrono, who backed away and made his way around the far side of the room.

"No… listen! Queen Leene!"

All four nuns jumped at the name but regained composure. "Queen?"

"Yes! Have you seen her?"

"Of course…"

"She's here – "

"No, dear… she hasn't been here for a long time…"

The four figures closed around Lucca and each stretched an arm toward her. Lucca braced herself, but nothing happened before they were interrupted by Chrono. "Lucca!" he cried, diverting attention long enough for his friend to escape between the women's robes.

Chrono came to meet Lucca halfway. "Look what I found." He held out a crystal hairpin.

"So?" Lucca's face held a look of vexation.

"Look what's on this hairpin – right here."

"That's Guardia's crest – " Lucca's eyes suddenly lit up. "The Queen's! She must be here!" She turned back to the nuns in excitement.

Her face instantly fell. For the four women were gone – and in their place were four monsters. These new creatures appeared humanoid, until she saw their lower halves. From the waist down, these creatures morphed into gigantic snakes, which glowed a strange pinkish hue. Their hair glowed the same pinkish color, as well as their fingernails, which were longer than Lucca's own fingers.

"Chrono…" she shook her friend's arm.

"What?" he glanced up from his find long enough to spy the transformed women. He dropped the hairpin. "Oh, my..." In a flash, he pulled out his sword and yanked Lucca behind him.

"Hey!"

A moment passed as Chrono stared down the four creatures, though it seemed hours to him. He wouldn't move until one of them barreled down on him. A smart way to fight four-on-one, as he had learned, and an effective way to hide the fact he couldn't bring himself to make the first move.

While Chrono prepared himself, Lucca took action. With a primal scream, she jumped from behind her friend and fired her pistol. (Chrono involuntarily ducked for cover at the scream.) Whack! – one of the creatures stared at her belly, from which now protruded the butt end of a potent tranquilizer. The creature growled, tore the dart from her stomach, and slithered rapidly to the two travelers, the other three right behind. Chrono extended his sword to meet her, but before any contact was made, the first creature fell over on her face.

Both Chrono and Lucca stared at the fallen creature as if they hadn't expected the gun to actually work. The surprise lasted a moment, though, for immediately, the other three were upon them. But before they could lift their weapons, they were hit by some invisible hand. Suddenly, the creatures were moving at mad speed, and the rescuers' own movements seemed slow and lethargic.

Chrono tried to raise his sword, but the creature's claws came too fast and clubbed him on the side of his head. As he fell over, he saw another creature grab his friend and throw her to the side, against a row of pews. He hit the floor, and winced, awaiting the next blow.

It never came – instead of hearing his own death blow, Chrono heard a high-pitched shriek. Slashes, cracks, and more screams followed. Chrono tried to raise his head, but it felt made of lead. The room swirled and tumbled around him, the walls closed in. He closed his eyes, but the room continued to move.

Then, just as suddenly as he had been struck, his head cleared, and time began to move at its usual pace. He opened his eyes and found another face inches from his own – the face of a frog!

"Ah!" He leapt to his feet and drew his sword. The frog remained cool, its own broad and gleaming sword gripped at its side. Unlike the usual frog, this one could, and did, stand on its hind legs. It also dressed itself in an off-white tunic and pants covered by a black cloak.

The frog stared the boy in the eye with a look Chrono could only interpret as that of modest superiority. "Lower thine guard," it croaked, "and thou art allowing the enemy in." It lifted its chin. "The spell of slow. Thou art unwise to combat an enemy thou knowest not."

"It talks!" Chrono heard from the pews. Lucca – evidently she had come to, and was just as surprised as her friend. "An anthropomorphic frog… imagine!"

The frog did not even acknowledge the girl. "Thou art here to save the Queen?" he asked. "So, the King hath become sensible – enough to send someone to aid me. Where goes the army?"

Chrono and Lucca just stared at the frog.

"Thou hast been sent – nay, thou only be poor travelers."

"Er…" Lucca hesitated. "We're here for Queen Leene."

"Then – you are fools."

"And you're not? You're here by _yourself_…"

"True. I have lived here two days, in the secret underworld of the Cathedral. The beast lies there with the Queen! – but alas! – I cannot find them."

"Beast?"

"Yakra. Beast even to a Mystic. The two-faced creature who walks the palace with the sun, and the dungeons with the moon."

"You're not making any sense."

"If thou art here for the Queen, then we shall search together. Come – " with that, the frog leapt away, toward the organ at the far end of the room. He placed his hands above the keys, lost in thought, eyes closed.

Chrono stared at the frog. "What are you…" Suddenly the frog snapped his eyes open and began playing a tune. The two travelers watched his long, crooked fingers dance on the keys.

The frog stopped, just in time for all to hear a low rumbling sound. The wall before them opened up, revealing a crude elevator.

"Where does it lead?" Lucca asked after a pause.

"Where do you think?" Chrono shot back.

"The underworld of the Cathedral," the frog gave Lucca an impatient glare. "Now, get thee going!"

"No!" Lucca stood rigid. "I'm not going anywhere until I know what is going on!"

Chrono rolled his eyes. "Lucca, please…"

"Come on, Chrono! We don't know who this guy – frog – hybrid – is, and we're letting him just lead us around some dark dungeon. That doesn't make any sense!"

"This girl – she doesn't understand? Madam, but for thine voice, I would mistake thee for a street urchin. Know your place."

"Come on, Lucca. Do you think he saved us from the creatures to kill us later?"

Lucca wouldn't budge. "Let's start with an easy one. Who are you?" she demanded.

"My name is of no importance," uttered the frog staunchly.

"Then I'll call you Froggy."

"Lucca!" Chrono interjected. "Be polite." He raised his right hand to the frog. "I'm Chrono. And that is Lucca."

The frog did not take his hand. "Greetings, Chrono. Lucca. Now the formalities being dispensed with, we may continue?"

Lucca stood, lips pursed, for a long moment. "Yeah, I guess."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Once under the Cathedral, the frog leapt ahead of the other two. "Follow, Chrono and Lucca." He began bounding through the dark torch lit halls, ducking around corners and in crevasses when he heard other footsteps.

Presently they came to a fork in the cavern. "Which way now?" Lucca asked.

"I think it does not matter," the frog replied. "But never did I see a creature take the left road."

"In that case, we should go right? There might be a trap on the left."

The frog just glared at Lucca. "This I know already." He bounded into the right path.

No sooner had they taken a step when a figure appeared out of the blackness. A human figure – that of a knight. One of the knights of Guardia! The knight did not even acknowledge the three strangers but kept walking.

"Hey!" Lucca called. "Another human! Are you here for the Queen, too?"

"Hush!" the frog cried. "That is no human." Seemingly on cue, the so-called knight drew his sword and slashed it at the girl. Lucca jumped out of the way just in time to avoid a rather painful blow. The knight raised the sword to swing again, but was stopped by the frog's own weapon, thrust through his chest. As the knight fell to the ground, it shed its skin to reveal another of the pink creatures. "A Mystic in disguise. If we keep to ourselves, we shall appear Mystics as well. Take care not to upset them."

With that, their journey continued – the frog leading the way through hoops and tunnels, Chrono and Lucca following as best they could. Soon the two children began to doubt their leader knew where he was going. In fact, the leader was beginning to doubt himself. It was as if the tunnels were changing and switching right before his eyes.

Finally they came before a wooden door carved into the rock. "Ah!" the frog sighed. "This is the door. I have been here before, but I was forced to flee. Be on your guard inside – there are more than Mystics to beware."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Let's go, men!" Captain Roland commanded, standing before the gates of the Cathedral. He bashed the door open and stormed inside, twenty eager young soldiers on his heels.

Immediately they stopped. For before them were three dead bodies of creatures they had not seen in a long time. "The Naga-ette," Roland whispered. Wordlessly he motioned to his troops. _Secure this area! There may be more. _Now if they could find the hiding place of Queen Leene.

"All right, Yakra. I'm coming for you. Where are you?"


	9. IV: Knights of Guardia 2

**Knights of Guardia**

Chrono had expected a more spectacular transformation upon entering this new underworld – but they really looked like the tunnels he had just left. Not that he would complain. It's just that he expected this monster's lair to have a little more dramatic power.

If there was any noticeable difference, it was that the tunnels were somewhat larger and brighter. They were still made of the same boring rock, and there were no intricate designs like that of the great Cathedral. Oh – yes – and the noise. There was plenty of noise. Judging from the sounds, somebody was hosting a brash party in the underworld.

No later had the trio walked in and heard the noise did the frog begin scampering off down one of the halls. "You know where we're going, right?" Lucca called, getting a _hush!_ – from Chrono.

"Nay. I have never been here."

"Then why are we following you – " she turned to Chrono " – why are we following this guy?"

"We have some time – Leene's down here somewhere, and common sense says that we will _eventually _find her."

By now the frog stopped and glared at Lucca. Then he glared at her friend. "I have more than enough skill to save the Queen on my own, if you please." Smartly he whirled around and bounded down the hall again.

The other two didn't move. "Where is he taking us?" Lucca repeated.

"I think he's investigating the weird party noises."

"Oh, that's real smart," she burst, and reluctantly followed after the frog. Chrono stood an extra moment, seemingly lost in thought, and then joined his companions.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

No one was surprised to find out that the party noises were indeed from a party. Immediately the scene reminded Chrono of the celebration feast at Guardia – minus the people. In their place were the most bizarre of creatures. "A feast of mystics," groaned the frog.

"Hello!"

All three jumped seven feet at the call. "Hello!" One of the Mystics, a short, gargoyle-shaped white creature with purple wings. "What are you wearing the disguises for?" After a few seconds the trio realized the creature was expecting an answer, but nobody was itching to talk to the mystic. "Never mind, then. It's about time you showed up, then. Sit down."

Only Chrono had the bravery, or the stupidity, to sit. Instantly, he wished he hadn't. _Just my luck I get sandwiched between the two big ones. But I can't get up now – that would look suspicious. _He did his best to look appreciative of the two hulking tortoise-like mystics on either side.

Lucca turned to the frog. "What are we celebrating?" She got no answer, save a _hush! ­_– and the frog gripped his sword at his side. "All right, then…" she sauntered up to one of the gargoyles in her best mystic step. "What are we celebrating?"

"The return of the Queen!" the gargoyle chuckled before letting out a satisfied belch.

"Ah." Lucca stepped back quickly. Quietly she made her way to Chrono's seat, which seemed to be getting narrower with each passing second. "Um… _ahemChronoahem_… we should get moving. We have to… um…" she faltered.

"You going to see the prisoners?" the drunk gargoyle finished for her.

"Right. The prisoners."

"I'll come, too. See, it's my turn to inspect."

Chrono jabbed his elbow into Lucca's side. "Good one," he grunted. "Now we have a tagalong."

Lucca returned the jab. "Let me handle this," she whispered. "Now come on and get up."

"I can't get out of the chair!"

"You're hopeless. I always have to rescue you."

"This is not the time for jokes, Lucca."

"Just get up!"

Chrono gave Lucca a cold, friendly stare. With a groan, he started wiggling down underneath the table. A few seconds later he emerged under his chair, grinning clumsily.

"Now what did you do?"

"One of those fat mystics let his shoes off under the table, so I stuffed them with that turkey stuff and pudding."

Lucca did her best not to smile. "Was that supposed to be clever? Come on, now."

"Where's the frog?"

"He's…" she looked around the room and noticed for the first time he was not present. "Never mind. We have prisoners to inspect."

"Sure, sure."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was a long fifteen minutes before Chrono, Lucca, and their gargoyle "escort" entered the prisoner's room. At first Chrono and Lucca pretended to take the lead until they realized they were getting nowhere on their own. The gargoyle periodically gave directions but seemed to assume that the two strangers knew their way, and let them take the lead – getting everyone that much more lost. So of course, they traveled in circles as the creature led them in countless circles due to convenient memory lapses. Chrono thought the least anyone could do would be to make some sort of map of the lair, as even the inveterate cave-dweller would lose his way through the winding and twisting corridors.

Once they found the prisoners' room, Chrono and Lucca wasted no time in ridding themselves of their escort. "You can go first," Lucca suggested innocently. "Those ugly prisoners scare me."

"You scare me," the gargoyle laughed. "You wouldn't make it ten feet in that disguise."

"Eleven, actually."

"Congratulations. Let's go in, then."

"You go first."

"If you're that shy…" the creature staggered through the narrow entryway. The two humans were about to make their getaway when they heard a _crack!_ – behind them and a ghoulish shriek. It didn't take them long to realize who had been in the prisoner's room first.

"Boy, am I glad I let him go first!" Lucca sighed.

"Dost thou have this trouble often?" the frog commented from the shadows behind the door.

"I can't understand a word he's saying – hey, I can't understand a word you're saying!"

The frog stepped out of the door, wiping the end of his sword with some kind of rag. Following him were two strange men – Chrono jumped at the sight until he saw they were humans. "Prisoners of the beast Yakra. Fortunately for me, you are here to escort them to the surface." He turned to the prisoners. "Follow the lady."

"What?" Lucca burst. "I don't know my way back!"

"Hold thy tongue! You will find the path."

"I have to go alone?"

"True. The road ahead is too much for you."

"Excuse me?"

"Sir Chrono, does the lady complain such at all times?"

Chrono blinked a few times. "What?"

"Then, never mind. Sir Chrono, come with me."

With that, the frog hopped away. Chrono took one last look at Lucca to say _sorry, but there's nothing I can do._ Then he took off after the frog.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Captain Roland sat at the front pew, head resting on both arms, which rested on both legs. His eyes scanned meticulously at nothing. _There must be some secret passage here – it's too much of a coincidence… until we saw the dead mystics, I would have guessed we had it wrong again._ "Yakra… the legendary beast," he mumbled. "How did I not see that?"

"Sir?" one of the knights behind him spoke up.

"What!" Roland whirled around in his seat. "Er – _ahem_ – what?"

The knight suppressed a smile. "Yakra?" At that, some of the braver ones ventured to chuckle aloud.

Roland opened his mouth wide – but didn't shout one syllable before a deep groan resounded from the walls. Suddenly tight-lipped, he gazed, fixated with one eyebrow several inches above the other, at the wall behind him.

To everyone's surprise, the wall opened up and three strange figures burst out. All the knights instantly whipped out swords and stood, ready for battle.

"Put those down!" barked the captain. "Those are ours! Now," he continued, "who are you?"

Lucca stepped forward. "These two are… or were… prisoners down there." She pointed to the elevator. "And I'm – Lucca."

Roland eyed her, the prisoners, and then his own men. "Is Queen Leene down there?"

"Yes, of course."

"Where is she?"

"In there. Somewhere."

Roland gritted his teeth in frustration. "Knights! You know what that means! - - I said, move!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, Chrono and the frog continued their trek through the cavern. Or, rather, the frog did the trekking, and Chrono followed as best he could, eyeing the surroundings for any threatening shadows.

He didn't notice the frog had now stopped, and blindly he bowled him over. "Sorry." The frog got up and dusted himself, contemptuously eyeing the boy (with as much contempt as a frog can display). "So, I'll guess we're here." Chrono was referring to the large iron door before the two of them. "Wherever here is…" he grabbed the handle and gave a good yank.

The door didn't budge. "What the…" Chrono muttered, and pulled harder.

"Stand aside," the frog croaked. With one motion he stepped up to the door and easily pushed it open. "Thine strength eludes thee," he said, obviously hiding a laugh, and leapt into the new room.

"Where are we?" asked Chrono, stepping hesitantly in.

"Under the graveyard – this is the undertaker's office. But I gather no undertaker has been here for some time."

"Why is that?"

"He is dead."

Chrono jumped. "Is that all?"

"_hush!_"

As if on cue, the two were interrupted by something coming out of the shadows. Instinctively they withdrew their swords.

"Put those down!"

Chrono and the frog paused, and looked at each other. "The chancellor."

"If you're here for Leene, you're too late. She's dead and buried – I buried her myself."

The frog motioned to Chrono. "Do not let him fool thee," he whispered, then lunged at the chancellor, swinging his sword. But it never made contact – there was no one in from of him. The chancellor was surprisingly agile for his age.

"Fine then. Fight me if you will – and die. You are too late to stop Magus." The frog whirled in circles, sword at the ready. "Prepare yourself."

Suddenly the wall beside the frog opened up and swallowed him under a pile of rubble. Chrono instantly jumped back to the other wall. Something was coming out of the new hole.

One look was good enough for Chrono to see that this beast was Yakra. The beast resembled a great lump of hay – a yellow hump of hair about seven feet long – with gigantic, flashing dark eyes. It was the creature's mouth that really made Chrono's skin crawl – a gaping hole with shining off-white teeth resembling an inside-out dog collar. The mouth bugled out and indented with every breath, giving Chrono the impression the mouth was a separate living organism. The beast had only two appendages resembling feet – paws, where a normal beast's feet should go. In the place of arms were two great spikes.

Of course, Chrono froze at the sight. He'd just wait until the beast made the first move. Then he could just counter every attack – like his swordsmanship classes. Except… his training wasn't in preparation for a fight against a haystack from hell. _What is it doing_?

Chrono took a hesitant step forward. Yakra followed with a step toward Chrono – who jumped back and gripped his sword tighter. The beast growled – a bone-chilling _Grrooo!_ – and with a huff, tore after the boy. Chrono sidestepped the monster – but nearly losing his legs in the process – and swung his sword in a great arc down on the creature's back.

_Crack!_ – that was not the sound of a breaking back. In fact, there wasn't any kind of mark on the creature at all. Chrono checked – _whew!_ – his sword didn't seem to have suffered from the blow. But neither had the monster.

_Grrrooo! _Again the monster charged – and Chrono barely avoided a painful trampling. The wall behind him crumbled as Yakra slammed into it.

_His underbelly! He must have a weakness under there!_ _But how do I get him on his back? _The creature rode so low to the ground that hardly anything would fit beneath it. Next time the creature charged - - he'd have something ready. _Something?_

But Yakra didn't charge. For now he had another enemy to face. The frog – who seemed none the worse after being pinned under a pile of rubble, except for the torn cape.

The creature seemed confused as to whom to attack first – but it soon made up its mind. _Grrooo!_ It tore after the frog, who nimbly avoided it (Chrono would remember to ask for swordsmanship skills sometime). The frog swung his sword – but he had the same success as Chrono – zero. _Bam!_ – another section of wall crumbled under the impact of the beast.

Once again the monster charged – _Grrooo! _– this time at Chrono. Instead of dodging to the side, he leapt onto the creature's back, grasping its hair with all his might.

The trick worked – Yakra began to buck and bounce, and Chrono spent all his effort in just staying on the monster's back. Eventually Yakra would have to stand on his paws to rid itself of its rider, exposing his underbelly in the process.

It took a long time to actually get to that point. First Chrono had to endure the bucking and bouncing – and then he had to hold on as the creature tore after the frog. He tired of this rather fast, and so formulated a new plan. After some hesitation, he loosed his grip with one hand – and began banging away at the monster's eyes.

Finally – something that had any effect on the monster. Yakra roared again and, desperate to rid itself of its rider, stood – exposing the underbelly.

The frog took the opportunity and silently leapt at the beast. But nothing came of the attack – the frog suddenly buckled in midair as if hit by an invisible hammer. Yakra also seemed struck by the same hammer, and it staggered backward. Chrono dismounted just in time – the monster tumbled over onto its back.

Now was the opportunity to strike! Chrono felt his sword swing high in the air – felt his arms above him, then in front of him – felt the blade pierce the belly of the beast. Immediately he pulled it out. He gaped – at the blood on his sword – the gash on the beast – and sat down hard.

But the beast was not dead. It clawed at the air for a moment – trying to right itself through its pain.

Much as Chrono tried, he could not bring himself to strike the final blow – after all, the beast may not have been dead, but it could not survive with that kind of wound… he could just let the beast die on its own.

He never had to worry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the frog crawling up to the beast. The frog was injured – several long needles sticking out of his midsection. But he dragged himself regardless, all the way to the fallen monster. In the sickest silence, he pulled out his sword and dug it into the monster – and then collapsed.

It seemed no time had passed before the great iron door burst open – the knights of Guardia! – too late for the action, but not too late to help the injured frog. Chrono lay, numb, until the captain finally shook him. "Are you all right… oh – you!" The captain's shock didn't last long, though. "Is the Queen here?"

Chrono shook his head.

"You don't know where she is?"

Now Chrono nodded.

"Yes?"

"She's dead."

"Yakra had her buried? – then, we still have some time. She may still be alive…"

Chrono started, his eyes wide. "What?"

"The legend of Yakra. True – and dead. His victims – either the main course of a mystic meal, or buried alive." The captain seemed to be talking to himself. "Our only hope is she was, in fact, buried – that would make more sense. If the king were to see her grave and think her truly dead, it would kill him." He snapped back to reality. "Sir… er… sir…"

"Chrono – "

"Yes. Sir Chrono, you need a rest at the palace. – Virgil! Take this boy along with the frog. He needs his rest!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this update took so long. They're going to come every once in a while for now - after all, school's starting. So we'll make this brief.

About this chapter: I felt kind of... weird... writing this. Because the characters themselves are in a hurry to save Leene, the writing consequently had to rush from one location to the next, and I felt I was rushing the entire chapter. Not to mention I creeped myself out thinking about Leene being buried underground in a coffin... heh heh. (That's why I'm rating this "T." I have no clue how creepy this could get, especially around Magus's Lair or the Ocean Palace.)

On that note, you'll notice I really (and I mean really) changed things around for this chapter. I fear I may have overdone it this time - though the changes work in my mind. Tell me if I'm ruining the story for you, though I may already have an answer. (World's smallest violin playing "My Heart Bleeds For You.") If I change it, there's a chance I have a good reason - just let me know if you were confused. I know I am.

Oh! And what do you think of Frog's character? I didn't expect him to turn out the way he did - it just kinda came out that way. I may have inconsistencies with the Olde English - but please no comments on "Thee vs. You." I can tell you that in Olde English, sometimes people used "you" instead of "thee, thou, or thine," depending on the context and who they were talking to. So don't tell me I was inconsistent because I used both words. I already know...

I'll update whenever!


	10. V: We're Back!

**Chapter V: We're Back!**

"Are you comfortable, Sir Chrono?"

Chrono lay, head lazily propped on a pillow. Sure, he was not seriously injured from his bout with Yakra (maybe he was bruised a little) – but if the King wanted to give Chrono a rest in the sopoforic knight's quarters, he was more than willing to take it. He'd definitely slept his best since coming to the old Guardia. And he didn't mind the roommates – a few injured knights here and there whose only excuse for being bedridden was that their injuries were great enough to keep them from full battle performance. Oh yes – and the frog, who had been asleep ever since Chrono awoke, and who, aside from being impaled and poisoned, was looking fine.

"Sir Chrono?" It was the maid. From her looks, Chrono would guess she was pushing seventy. But from the sound of her young voice, he would never guess. She never left his side while he was awake – unless he could assure her beyond any doubt the size of a pinhead that he was, indeed, fine, and only needed to be left alone to sleep. The assurances were few and far between. "Is that comfortable for you?" The maid had just applied a washcloth to his forehead (which apparently was injured in battle more than the rest of him) and tucked the boy in for the sixty-third time.

"Yes."

"Good, then. Do you need anything else?"

"No."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Good, then."

Chrono sighed – but he was saved having to endure such suffocating hospitality, for at that moment the doors burst open with all the subtlety of a goose being launched out of a cannon. And in flew the goose.

"Hey, Chrono! What are you doing, still in here?" Lucca squawked, stomping over to the bedside. "You're going to milk your injuries for everything you can? Get out of bed! The king wants to see you anyway. Along with Froggy – who is _still_ sleeping… hey! You could sleep through an earthquake!"

"Lucca – "

"Are you coming or not? Apparently you two are the heroes today – lucky. Or, are you too tired to get out of bed?"

"I'll be there, Lucca. By the way, how is the Queen?"

"Oh, Leene. Yes, well, she's doing fine, for someone who'd been stuffed in a coffin for several hours. The King won't let her take ten steps away from him! It's almost funny… considering… well, you should just get up there."

"Can I have my forehead bathed first?"

"What?"

"Never mind. Tell them I'll be up in a few minutes."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was actually half and hour before Chrono came upstairs. The first thing he saw was Lucca – staring him down from two feet away. "Sorry!" Chrono blurted. "I was… occupied."

Lucca clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Just come on. You've only made the entire place wait half and hour to decorate you."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize!"

"Sorry. I mean… never mind."

Lucca grasped his arm and dragged him into the throne room, crowing all the way – "Here he is! Here he is!" She released her friend and proudly tossed him into the room, where he sprawled in front of the king and queen – and a few dozen knights, squires, nobles, and various other castle-dwellers – who all stared at the red-topped pile of limbs on the floor.

"Ah!" the king beamed, his smile threatening to cut his face in half. "Sir Chrono!" He stood, his left hand firmly entangled in the queen's. He motioned to Leene, and she stood, and they stepped down to Chrono. "Today," the king said, bringing his voice down, "today, Sir Chrono, you are a hero – that is… you've returned my wife to me. You destroyed the monster. Do you realize how much you have done for the kingdom?"

"…"

The king cleared his throat. "Well… Sir Chrono… ah… let me be brief. You shall be honored. Do you have any family?"

Chrono waited a moment before realizing he was to respond. "Oh! Yes. Of course."

"Then they shall be here for your ceremony."

"Ceremony, sire?"

"Yes…" the king gave the boy a sideways glance. "A ceremony of honor…"

"Oh… well, I can't… bring my family."

"I'm sorry. I don't understand. If you have a family, I will send for them at once. They will be here to see you honored."

"I… what about the frog?"

"Frog?" the king arched his eyebrows. "I heard of a frog… a… knight. Where is he?"

Chrono was beginning to tire. "Down in the knights quarters… Sire."

"There's… the frog is… here? Then, why is this frog not here?"

"He's sleeping."

"Pardon?"

"Never mind. I… uh…"

"Hush." The king smiled. "I'll not hold you here any longer. My thanks to you for saving my wife, the chancellor, as well as some others of our more fortunate subjects. Goodbye, Sir Chrono." With that, he pulled Leene even closer to his side, turned, and the two of them strode out and up the stairs. On cue, everyone else in the room packed up their awed expressions and withdrew.

Lucca broke the silence. "That went well." She hurried up to his side. "Maybe that was the rehearsal."

"Lucca!" her friend stared her down. "Now what am I going to do? The king expects me and my family to be here!"

"That's not my fault."

"What am I going to do, just disappear?" He turned to storm off – which would have been far more impressive had he known where he was storming off to.

"I can arrange a disappearance," Lucca said. "That is, you and I can both get out of here. Remember the gate key?"

Chrono stopped. "No."

"Okay," Lucca smiled. "It's our way of traveling those weird time portals. You remember that at least. With it, we can simply walk in and leave."

Chrono had to think for a moment. "So, you're asking me to leave the king without so much as a good-bye?"

"It'll do good for your image of mysteriousness. Come on, what did you eat? You walked in out of nowhere with the 'Queen,' and single-handedly saved the kingdom. It won't hurt anyone if the mysterious knight leaves, on another unknown quest to help those in need."

"I didn't – " Chrono began to protest.

"Whatever. Nobody will mind. Let's go."

"No! What about M – the girl? Isn't she what we came for?"

Lucca stopped for a moment, gritting her teeth. "All right. Fine. Where did you last see her? She might be there."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Chrono!"

It was the girl – sitting on Chrono's guest bed as if nothing had happened. As soon as her rescuer came in view, she hopped right off. "I knew you'd save me! I knew it."

Lucca groaned. "Have fun, Chrono." With a chuckle, she patted him on the back, and slipped away.

The girl came up within two feet of Chrono but didn't step any farther. "You don't look so happy to see me. What's wrong?"

_I didn't save you… _"N… nothing. Well… do you want to go home?"

"As in, the future?"

_Yes. _"Home."

"So, you're not much for formalities. Who cares – I don't want to stay cooped up here any longer than now. After being dead for a day."

_That would be awful. _"D – dead?"

"Sort of. It was awful." She knelt down for a moment. "Like I didn't even exist. It was so dark – and cold – and, I don't know."

_I'm sorry. _"I suppose it sucks being dead."

"Yeah. Sort of."

_Lucca's kind of waiting for us downstairs. _"Shall we go, then, N – Marl – er – Princess…"

The girl suddnely grimaced. "I knew you'd figure that out," she whispered.

_Figure out you're a princess? That would never have surprised me. _"Yeah." _Where did that come from?_

"Oh, Chrono – " her eyes were staring at the floor, her mouth unsmiling. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie."

_I don't mind._ "…"

"I just thought that – that if I told you who I was, you wouldn't have… shown me around the fair… but you're not that kind of person, are you." She looked up and began to smile again. "I bet you would have shown me around anyway, wouldn't you?"

_I don't know. _"Well, yes."

"Thought so."

_Well, it's good to see you're safe, exactly as you were before. _"Well… we should probably leave."

"What? Without saying a good-bye to everyone here?"

_Yes._ "I thought you hated this place."

"You're right…"

_But nothing. _"C'mon – let's go."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"As I said, this 'gate key,' as I call it, is designed to channel the portal in the same way that your pendant did, Princess Nadia."

Lucca finished the climb up to the forest a few steps ahead of the other two, who had quit listening as soon as the opportunity came. Chrono and Nadia had tried to make conversation, but Lucca kept interrupting, and they were climbing, and despite their previous adventures, had nothing to say. The scenery was nice, though – considering that they could all stop to appreciate it.

Nadia had eventually fallen quite far behind, considering she wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion. She had found her own clothes from the future, but for some reason, there were no shoes anywhere. In a gentlemanly fashion, Chrono had offered his own, but they fell right off the girl's feet. (Chrono put his shoes back on – after all, if she couldn't use them, why couldn't he?) He had also offered to stop by a clothing shop and buy some shoes, but both Lucca and Nadia were not anxious to spend an extra second in this Guardia.

All were glad that no surprises awaited them at the top of the cliff. Of course, by surprises, they excluded the glowing blue sphere hovering a foot or two above the foliage. (Chrono didn't think it unwise to assume that was the portal back to the Millennial Fair.)

"Well, then, Chrono, Princess Nadia, let's go."

Nadia shot Lucca a look. "How?"

"Weren't you even listening? This!" she waved the gate key in front of the princess's face. "It's our way back home, Princess Nadia."

"Stop calling me Princess! That's really annoying."

"Fine, then."

Meanwhile, Chrono had already taken the liberty of trying to enter the portal. "Hey, Lucca!" he called, waving his hand through the sphere. "It's not working! Look, I'm going right through the – thing."

"Well, duh! I haven't used the gate key yet."

"What do you mean?"

"I have to activate it – otherwise that portal remains in a separate timeline! Of course you can't interact with it until I bring it into _this_ timeline!"

Nadia put her hand to her head. "You lost me."

"Never mind. See, Chrono, let me show you how it works. It's just a push of a button – okay, that's all you have to know… got it? This shouldn't be hard."

"Right. I understand. Trust me."

"So, then, what are we hanging around here for? Chrono, you can let me do the honors."

"Obliged."

Lucca raised the key heroically, allowing the disk to glisten in the sun. "Okay," she brought the device back down. "Enough with the show – now watch this." With the push of a button, the portal suddenly opened until becoming a circular door into a shining blue mist. "What are you guys waiting for? It's open."


	11. V: We're Back 2

**We're Back**

The next thing any of them knew, they were sprawled out on the ground in front of the Telepod. Chrono welcomed the hard cobblestone in his face. For one, it told him he was still alive, but he also realized he was back home, at the Millennial Fair! He placed his hands to either side and pushed himself to his feet…

"Mmph!"

Or, tried to…

"Hey! Lucca! Nadia! Get off me! I can hardly breathe!"

"Welcome home to you, too."

Simultaneously they rolled off to greet the pavement personally. "Oaff!"

"We're back!" Chrono was suddenly cheerful.

The girls stood and stretched. Nadia was first to speak. "Okay, now what?"

Lucca tried not to laugh. "Sorry for putting you through all that, Princess Nadia."

"Quit calling me that!"

"All right then. But, sorry anyway."

"Are you kidding? That's the most fun I've had in months!"

Chrono shook his head. _Sure it was._ "Well, Nadia. I guess it's time to take you back home."

The girl jumped at the word. "I don't want to go back home."

Chrono pointed at the sun, just over the horizon. "It's getting late, and your father, of all people, is going to notice you're missing."

"Come on!"

Now Lucca joined. "Listen, Nadia. You've got to go back."

"No! The day isn't over yet. I'm not going home."

Chrono sighed. "Well, Lucca and me have to go back. So, if you're not coming, you'll stay here by yourself!" He stopped and scratched the back of his head. "Er… that is… unless you'd like to come with us."

"Yeah right!" Lucca covered her face.

"It's better than the alternative," her friend returned. "She could stay here by herself." He turned back to Nadia. "We could all go to my house. My mom probably already made me a…" he stopped, his eyes getting wide. "Mom!"

"What?" both girls asked.

"She's probably going crazy – I haven't been home in days!"

Lucca shook her head. "No, silly. You've only been gone a few hours."

"Excuse me?"

"Remember, we traveled through time? We're not on the same timeline?"

"You lost me."

Lucca gave Nadia an apologetic look, then continued. "Okay, this is us." She held up one hand. "We go in through this portal at – what time was it anyway? Let's say noon. Now we are in a different timeline." She held up the other hand. "The portal sent us to a specific point in time. So, no matter how long we stayed in the past – how long was it anyway? Three days, you said? Time did not travel in the present…" she waved the first hand, "until we returned, because the portal sent us to this particular time, only hours after our departure."

Chrono and Nadia were silent.

"Please tell me one of you understands. At least you, Nadia."

"Hey!" Chrono piped up. "I get it. At least… I get some of it."

"Look, never mind. Let's just say it doesn't matter. Now, Chrono, would you be the gentleman and escort the lady home?"

"We've been over this," Nadia glared at Lucca, hands on hips.

"Forget it." Lucca waved dismissingly. "I have to go home by myself anyway. My watch is a few days off, and I need it calibrated. Bye, Chrono, and don't drop her." She grinned and made her getaway.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono and Nadia both did their best to leave the fair without getting sidetracked. Neither ventured to talk to the other – after all, there wasn't much to talk about aside from the generic small talk, and after the last three days, listening to someone talk about his last time at a social gathering or her day of spending money on various articles of nothing wasn't high on the list of things to do.

Once they had left the crowds of people, Chrono turned to the girl. "So, er… I guess we're going home, then?"

Nadia glared at him, but weakly said, "no. I don't want to go back."

"Well you can't just come to my home." Chrono waited for a response. "And that's where I'm going."

"Fine."

"No, you're not. I'm sure your father is missing you."

"Probably not."

"Sure he is. Someone is. Now come on, let's go."

"No…"

Chrono consciously put his hands to his sides. "All right. If you aren't going home, then I am!" He gave her one last look, and then stormed away.

"Wait!" Nadia cried. "Wait, don't leave." Chrono cringed, coming to a halt.

"You won't go home, and you sure aren't coming with me! If that's the case, you'll just stay here!"

"Why can't I?"

Chrono blinked. Either this was a new reverse psychology tactic, or he hadn't heard the girl right.

"Why can't I come with you?"

"Because." He lowered his head and gritted his teeth. "You can't."

Nadia almost laughed. "That's a silly reason."

"I don't… want you to."

"Well _I _don't want to go home. There you have it. One of us is going to be wrong."

"I don't have time for this." Chrono threw up his hands and turned to leave again.

"What, you're just going to leave me here?"

"Yes, I will!" He glared in her eyes. "Now come on!"

That stopped Nadia short. "What?"

"Are you coming, or do I have to leave you here?"

She smiled.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Hello, I'm back!" Chrono called as he stepped into his home. His mother turned from her daunting task of adjusting the curtains, which had fallen a hair out of the track.

"Chrono! Wow, you must have had some fun, because you've been gone all day! – and you brought… a friend. And a change of clothes…" her eyes narrowed.

"Er… yes." He fidgeted a little.

His mother gave him her special mind-reading stare. He shot back with his own _this is not what you think!_ – stare. And, of course, they ignored each others warnings.

She turned to address the girl standing very close (and at the same time very far) from Chrono. "So, what is your name?"

"I'm… er, Marle."

"You don't remember?" Mom chuckled.

Nadia stood in silence for a moment, as if cornered.

"Oh, I didn't mean to embarrass you." She looked again at her son. "All right, Chrono, you're just in time for dinner."

"What?" he shot a worried look at Nadia.

"No, I'm kidding. But I can make dinner for you, and your friend Marle."

"Oh, no, no!" Chrono jumped. "Er – Marle was just on her way home… and I was taking her. We're just stopping to check in… and…"

"Right."

"Marle just lives a few minutes away, honest."

Mom peered at the stranger. "Is that why you look so familiar!"

"No, no. Maybe you have her mixed up with someone else."

Nadia could see Chrono faltering, so she came to the rescue. "I'm just visiting for the fair. You know, the Millennial Fair."

"I know the Millennial Fair. What other fair is there?" Mom chuckled to herself again – which greatly unnerved Chrono. "All right then, if you're just on your way home, it was nice meeting you, Marle. Be sure to stop by some other time. And Chrono," she called as the two hurried out the door, "I'll get dinner ready when you… never mind."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"That was close. I told you this was a stupid idea." Chrono held his hair in his hands.

"What's so stupid. All I had to do was tell her I was someone else visiting relatives – why did you tell her we were leaving? As if she wasn't suspicious enough?"

"You want to go back there?" He pointed to his house around the corner.

"We can't now!"

Chrono held up a hand. "I'm sorry. But I can't take you anywhere – you just draw too much attention."

"I do not! I didn't at the fair!"

"Forget it. Just… we told my mom we'd be gone a few minutes. I need to take you home."

Nadia sat down hard. "I thought I made it clear we weren't going there."

Chrono heaved a great sigh and continued. "There is no way you can stay here. If you don't come with me, you'll be stuck out here. To make matters worse… you're a princess. If you go missing, the entire kingdom will be out looking for you." He smiled triumphantly. "Now will you come, or will you wait for the royal guard to drag you by your ponytail all the way back?" He glared into her eyes.

She refused his glare. "Yes."

Without an extra second, Chrono turned on his heels and stomped off. Nadia stood stunned for a moment – "and that's all, I suppose. Hello, goodbye." – before tentatively following.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know it has been a long time - but I'm sure the updates won't come any faster. Except maybe during holidays, when I have some time off. But for now, bear with me. I'm writing as fast as I can without removing things from the story.

One thing I need to say right off the bat - bad grammar. If you are into reviewing, go ahead and point out all the bad grammar. Some of the grammatical "errors" are actually put in on purpose - especially when in quotes. I do this because sometimes if I change the rule for a sentence it has a certain impact... I don't do it often, though. The best examples would be glaring fragments or run-on sentences, and those pesky sentences beginning with AND, BUT, or OR.

Second, characters: I don't know about you, but I am surprised at how these characters are turning out. I know, you're thinking _he's the author, he should know his characters_. Wrong. I only decided their basic traits. Then, when the plot happens, their characters can emerge, often changing what I was planning to write a few chapters later. So if you don't like some of the character development, you're in a real pickle because you can't blame anyone except your personal tastes...

I'll update whenever.


	12. VI: The Trial

**Chapter VI: The Trial**

Chrono did his best to remain sociable to the girl. After all, he though well enough of her to risk his life and save her. Why, then, would he wish she would disappear and never return?

She had suggested they take a car to Guardia Castle. The idea itself would be reasonable – especially because it was much faster than walking the few miles in. But Chrono brought up the fact that anyone with a brain would recognize her. Sure, there might be other reasons, but that one was enough – for Chrono.

Of course she won the debate, and so Chrono had found himself sitting beside the hyperactive girl, if only beside her for a few moments at a time. He could attribute her sudden burst of energy to nervousness; she hadn't exactly expressed unfettered enthusiasm at hearing she would return home. Or she was glad to be safe in a time period she found agreeable. More than once Chrono wondered if the driver would stop and check the car to see if the lady was all right ("pretty lady," he had said, but that was all, thankfully).

Now they were out of the car, and Chrono couldn't shake the awful feeling coming down on him. Nadia's attitude didn't help, either. The feeling grew stronger as they drew closer to the castle.

"Nadia!" he blurted. "Listen. Um… it's been wonderful… but we're here, and so… I guess this is good-bye."

She was a little puzzled. "Excuse me?"

"We're here."

"No, we still have a ways to walk."

"I mean, this is where I say good-bye."

She looked over her shoulder at the castle. "For now, anyways."

"Whatever."

Nadia bit her lower lip and backed a couple of steps. Then she turned and disappeared into the forest.

Chrono watched until she was completely out of sight. He found himself wondering why he was glad to see her go. _At least I can take a few minutes to myself and assess the situation after the last few days… hours. Not that I don't like the girl at all. It's just… she is, in a way – bothersome. That's the word. That's a good word._ _Of course, now I'm miles from home and Mom is probably a little suspicious… considering I have returned in separate clothes and carrying a sword._

He waited at least ten minutes before catching a car. Silently he mused, hoping the driver wouldn't think to turn around and make conversation. Luckily for him, the driver was a rather drunk looking male, so the chances of intelligent conversation were just higher than a freshly mowed lawn.

Sure, there was a part of him that would miss the girl. But now that she was gone, he felt as if his life were suddenly far less… complex. _Good – now what? I guess I'll figure that out tomorrow. After the fair._ So the remainder of the trip was spent in guilty reflection and planning of tomorrow's schedules.

He arrived home to meet a very anxious mother. "Hello again, Chrono." She stood from the couch and came to greet him. "I thought you said you would only be gone a little while," she said, pulling him into a motherly embrace (somewhat awkward, as Chrono was at least a foot taller). "It's been nearly an hour."

"…"

"I'm sorry I didn't get to meet your new friend." She pulled away and backed toward the kitchen.

"Pardon?"

"Oh, all right, if you weren't friends, then."

"No. That's fine."

"Do you want dinner? You've been at the fair all day. Or did you eat too much there?"

"No. I'm starved."

"In that case, do you want to help make dinner?" Mom smiled knowingly.

"Do I _want_ to?" Chrono returned the smile, but Mom didn't want to fool around. "All right, let me get dressed first."

"All right. See you in a few minutes this time?"

Chrono smirked, then trudged up to his room. No less than ten minutes later he was back down again. Mom gave him a glance over for approval first. _Come on, who's looking? _Yes, he looked… passable. The tunic was a little frumpy, and his hair had the fresh electric-chair-victim vivacity. She sighed and motioned for him to come.

"What's for dinner?"

"Well, I decided to see if any stores were open, but with the popularity of the fair, all the vendors put up shop in Leene Square. I was considering going there, but you know how I like crowds – "

"Mom!" Chrono interrupted. "What's – for dinner?"

"Fish."

"Thanks."

With one topic down, Mom wasted no time introducing a new one. "So, where did you say the girl is from?"

"…"

"The girl, Marle?"

"Oh, yes – she, she's from… Porre."

"Ah. She came all the way out here alone just for the fair…"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No. She's a determined young girl, I'll give her that. Is she staying with relatives, she said?"

"What?"

"Don't pretend you didn't hear me – " Mom suddenly smiled slyly. "Unless…!"

"I don't know this woman, I tell you!" Chrono's eyes bulged playfully out of his head.

"Careful – don't spill the water!"

"I'm being careful – "

"Here, give me that… honestly, it's like you're in your own little world out there."

Chrono didn't bother to respond. He was grateful only that Nadia had been forgotten. Not that he stopped thinking. No, that would have been too difficult. After all – he'd been thrust into incredible peril (always the fault of the girls, too… both Nadia and Lucca – he began to think that was no coincidence), rescued said girl, and promptly brought her to his home. The girl was a little too attached.

About ten minutes into his thoughts, Chrono realized his mother was still talking. Something about the dinner. No – she was telling him to get the door. Right. Someone was there. He remembered responding, or maybe grunting something.

"Hello! Chrono! Will you please answer the door!" Mom was in his face.

"Right! Um, sorry." He backed a few steps before turning to the door. Whoever was knocking needed a lesson in patience. And volume control. Chrono turned the latch and swung the door open.

The first thing he noticed was the two men were officials, most likely from the palace. Well, he assumed they were two men, but they looked and dressed exactly the same, so he might have been experiencing some double-vision. But that speculation was cleared up when one of them stepped forward. "Does a man answering to Chrono live here?"

"…?"

The second one gave the first (or was it the first gave the second?) a look of vexation. "Are you Chrono?"

The boy couldn't resist. "No, the lady making dinner. She's Chrono."

The first (or was it second?) official paused for a moment but never smiled. "We do not have any sense of humor, young man. You would be wise to remain official toward us."

"Be polite, young man," the other corrected, then offered, "may we come in for a moment?"

"Sure."

The clones marched in the door. "Ma'am?" Clone Two began.

Mom looked up from cooking long enough for her son to catch a worried glance. "I'm sorry! Hello, sirs, what can I do for you? Would you like some place to sit?"

That brought a hand waving from Clone One. "No, ma'am, we will not be staying for very long."

"We're just here to pick up the boy, Chrono," Clone Two continued.

Both the boy and his mother jumped and gawked in unison. "Pardon?"

"Yes." The first showed no sign of apology. "The boy is wanted by the Guardian kingship. We are here to safely escort the boy."

"What am I wanted for?"

Clone One only glared at him until his counterpart stepped in. "We'll clear this up later, folks. However, you'll still have to come with us." He offered his hand to Chrono, who gave it a brief once-over, then stormed to the door. "No, son, please don't run off. You can run away, but you'll still be wanted. Please, just come with us, and we'll straighten the whole thing out. If you're innocent, you'll be back home in a couple of hours. If you're guilty, then we can all rest knowing we've rounded up a felon."

"Felon!" Mom cried.

"We have a car waiting," Clone one interceded. "Come with us, now, sir. We have no patience." He reached for the boy's hand.

"Wait!" Mom wasn't going to let them out so easily. "Am I allowed to come, too?"

"Sorry, ma'am, but you are not allowed. You may, however, come to the trial. We will reserve you a seat."

"Trial?" But Chrono was already out the door. Clone Two offered a last look of sympathy before Mom was left alone with the fish.

(Note: a car is not necessarily an automobile. A car is simply the storage unit of any moving object, like the car of a train. In this case, a car may be a horse-drawn carriage, as automobiles are not the norm in Guardia.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All in all, the trip back to the palace was rather pleasant. The two clones really weren't so bad once you got to know them. Or, at least, when you got to know Corny. "It's a short name for Cornelius," he had explained in the car. "And this one here," he grinned, indicating Clone One, "is Benny."

"What's Benny short for?" Chrono had asked.

"A Benny for your thoughts!"

Chrono tried not to dignify that with a laugh, but he failed miserably. "No, I'm serious."

"Benjamin, of course." Corny grinned with Chrono and continued. "Yes, it would seem we got our names mixed up. Sometimes I wonder myself if I got my name right. One night at the castle, I got up and Benny was there. I thought I was looking in the mirror!"

Chrono ventured to ask. "You're twins, right?"

"Fraternal twins, two years apart. Really, it's hard to tell me from him anyway. We're both blond, blue-eyed, and medium height and build. Well, Benny's taller and stronger according to the straight, hard facts, at least since yesterday, but…"

About then Benny had spoken up. "We're almost there. Listen, I know you want to be cordial to the boy, but please – maintain your status. He probably thinks he is being abducted by two hal-wits."

_No, just one. We'll leave it at that while there's still a chance._

"Sorry, Benny. It's just the boy looks like he could use some company anyway. What's he wanted for anyway?" Benny only turned away.

_Oh, look. We're here._

Benny reached across and opened Chrono's door, indicating he should exit first. Chrono complied, followed by the two brothers. Benny made sure Corny received two steely glares for the price of none. "Please, sir, follow us." Without any more words, Benny marched to the castle. His brother followed suit a little less rigidly. Of course Chrono thought of making a great escape – but he thought better of it and ran to catch up with the clones.

The castle now was in much the same condition as the castle four hundred years back – except for some "upgrades" that included extra square footage and new décor. At least that was the impression Chrono had from the outside, because he didn't make it more than two feet in the front door when he was accosted by none other than the Chancellor.

"It's you!" the old man shrieked. As far as the Chancellor image – this one had it quite well. His physical features said nothing but old and rich: short, stubby white beard, pupil-less eyes, and a bald head (under a nice, big, skin-covering hat). "You're the one! The red-topped one! Guards! Come apprehend this man!"

All at once ten men came out of the stonework. Two gruff, burly men grabbed each of Chrono's arms. "Hey, (oomph) wait!" he shouted. "What's going on?"

"You're under arrest, young man!"

_For what? Trespassing? Not combing my hair? Wearing plaid and polka dots at the same time?  
_

"Milton – take him downstairs."

"Oh, er… sir Chancellor?" It was Corny. The officer seemed a bit nervous with the thought of _downstairs_. "The boy doesn't even know what's going on. You could at least read his rights or something."

"My brother is correct." Benny. "And, according to law, a criminal may not be jailed at all without being informed of his crime. And then, he is only to have a holding cell until he is given a trial." The other guards nodded their approval.

"Fine then." The Chancellor seemed flustered. "Sorry, I was a slight hasty, er… take the boy to a cell. Do you have anything to say, boy?" The last sentence came more as rhetorical than a legitimate question.

"Yes I do! What am I being arrested for?"

All of the guards avoided eye contact except the burly man clutching his right arm. "Listen," he hissed, "the princess disappeared, so did you, you both reappeared six hours later. Get it?"

_Kidnapping?_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fifteen minutes later Chrono found himself in the luxurious "cell." He could get used to this place (secretly he hoped the trial wasn't for another month). The cell came with all the "conveniences" of home life – plush furniture, ample lighting, carpeted floor, a writing desk with pens and lots of paper, soft downy bed, and lots of living space. "It's in case you want to write your loved ones while in prison," Milton had said as he carefully dumped Chrono into his new habitation. The boy felt the statement should have continued, "or your last will and testament."

In less than an hour, Chrono had accustomed himself to his cell life. Really, the only reason they called it a cell was because he was not allowed to leave at his discretion. His meals would be served to him personally. Visitors were allowed full access to the room, escorted by guard, but they were not allowed to bring anything with them unless it was unwrapped before they left. Oh yes, and if Chrono had any needs, he need only push this button on the wall. Within minutes, some lackey would be in to serve his latest need.

It was this last trick Chrono employed most skillfully. He especially found it enjoyable to ring that bell whenever the Chancellor was present and watching. When the lackey came in, Chrono would gripe and whine as loud as he could (in case the Chancellor was a "slight deaf"), and the lackey would carefully and kindly cater to his every whim. He could just see the old man's rage lighting his hat on fire.

He had plenty of visitors. His first had been Nadia, who apologized profusely for telling her dad she had been with him all day (while never telling where they actually _were_), and she left without so much as looking in his eye. Occasionally, members of the castle dropped by to say hello. Most of them assured the boy that they really didn't know what he was accused of and that he had nothing to worry about because the accusations could be nothing but shaky. After all, nobody could prove anything because the only people who knew where Chrono and Nadia had been weren't talking. Then came Lucca with his mother. Of course he received the usual "I'm so sorry, honeys" from Mom, but Lucca was another matter entirely. "I see this is another fine mess you've stumbled into this time." Oh, Lucca. What would he do without you?

Finally Corny had come in. "Hello again, Chrono." He sat himself on the plush sofa and sank so far Chrono was sure his rear end could be seen sticking out of the ceiling of the kitchen. "Oomph. Never mind," the guard grunted. "Can you help me out here?" He laughed, then sort of wiggle-launched himself out of the chair. "Forget it."

"So," he continued. "First, I would like to apologize for everyone here. We were supposed to begin the trial by tomorrow, but we had some trouble with your lawyer."

_Lawyer? I must have done some serious kidnapping_.

"Seems he was not recognized at the gate and hasn't been allowed in. We've cleared the mess up, but we'll have to wait until he comes back tomorrow."

_Lawyer?_

"Until then, you'll have to stay here. Is that all right?"

Chrono sighed his approval and sank himself into the opposite couch. "What do I do until then?"


	13. VI: The Trial 2

**The Trial**

Pierre arrived the following morning. As soon as he entered the "cell," Chrono could tell he was the lawyer. Besides the business suit, the man carried a bag overflowing with papers. He carried himself very stately, eyeing Chrono over the tips of his bifocals. At first he looked like he wore a plastic pot on his head, but that was only his hair, short-cropped, black, and quite unmoving.

Chrono tried to stop the lawyer from sitting on the plush couch, but it was no use. Wordlessly, Pierre sat, and sank deep, into the furniture. The boy only watched as the lawyer struggled just to get out of the seat.

"Good morning, sir Chrono," he began, shaking the boy's hand. "I am Pierre."

"Hello," the boy returned meekly, motioning toward the writing desk. Pierre took his cue and sat in the hard, wood chair. Chrono sat opposite him on the bed.

"Let's begin, then." Some papers fell out of the bag. "Sorry about that," Pierre said while gathering the loose material. "These are for another case. Anyway, let's review yours." He leaned back in his chair in a manner which reminded Chrono of a wooden puppet. After a brief pause, the lawyer cleared his throat and continued. "Well, then, myabe I shall start.

"I suppose you know already the charges against you." Chrono shook his head. "No, then?" Pierre peered over his bifocals, then turned to his bag and produced a folder. "Here they are. One: the charge of kidnapping with malicious intent." Pierre stopped for a moment as if considering something. "Two: the charge of abducting a royal figure for ransom." Both raised their eyebrows in unison. "And three: the charge of imbalance of character and/or integrity."

"That's laughable."

"Maybe so, but there are three charges against you anyway."

"They can't prove any of that."

Pierre smiled unnervingly. "Well, now, we'll see about that. This first charge is the most serious. Frankly, Chrono, you don't have anything but your word on this one. You and the girl disappeared at the same time, for several hours."

"But the girl - she could testify! She could say I did no such thing!"

The lawyer wrinkled his forehead. "I was under the impression she would testify against you."

"Trust me, she wouldn't. Ask her yourself!"

"I would, but – " he glanced at the wall clock. "Your trial is a few hours away. We don't have much time. Now let's get one more fact straight: not only did you disappear for several hours, but you returned of your own will, escorting the lady out of the fair." Once again he scanned the list of charges. "Yes, they will not be able to prove the charge of ransom if you returned her willingly. However, they will be able to easily charge you with rape and assault."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Oh, as well as the fact you returned in separate clothes, and she did not?" Pierre gave his smile again. Something about that smile both assured and greatly distressed Chrono. As if he knew he were under careful scrutiny but found completely innocent.

Pierre continued. "Finally, imbalance of integrity and/or character." He looked up as playfully as a lawyer could. "That's a fancy way of saying you are either insane or intensely maladjusted, even violent. At the worst, they can only harm your reputation. In fact," his eyes lit mischievously, "we could lessen your sentence if we could convince them you were insane."

The boy started. "That's not funny."

"That doesn't matter. Those are the facts. Now, give me your side of the story."

Chrono waited a long time before starting. As he spoke, Pierre scribbled notes. "I met the girl at the fair. She looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place her. Anyway, I had come to watch my friend's science project. Something went… wrong. The girl got in trouble, and I had to help her… then I took her home – back here, to the palace."

There was a moment of silence as the lawyer finished writing. Finally, he looked up from the paper and proceeded. "Before I begin, I would like you to tell me that fantastic story again – with complete honesty. Oh I believe the part about the science fair, but if something went wrong, surely your friend would have known where you were for those long hours."

"Lucca."

"Pardon?"

"My friend, Lucca."

"I see…" he wrote the name down, then thought of something else. "Now, was anyone else at this science project?"

"Yes, a lot of people I didn't know."

"We'll see about that then. Now, you said you actually escorted the girl home. I have written here that you took the girl out of the fair, but no one seems to have seen you take her home."

"I took a car."

"Did you see anyone else?"

"...YES! – my mother! I went home first – with Nadia! My mother saw her!"

Pierre wrote that down. "Good, then. Do you know who drove you to the palace?"

"Some driver I don't know." Chrono was speaking rapidly now.

"What time was it?"

"Just after seven."

"Good, good. When did you leave for home?"

"Fifteen minutes later."

"And did anyone see you take the girl into the castle?"

Chrono's face went white. "No… I left her… I mean, once we were out of the car, I sent the girl on her way." Pierre just stared. "Aren't you going to write that down?"

"That comment stays in this room." The lawyer eyed the boy with such intensity that Chrono felt the nape of his neck start to burn. "Now, I have here the entire story, what you thought, who saw you and whom you saw. But, there is one hole missing. Specifically, a six hour hole where you and the girl vanished into thin air." He leaned back in the chair as Chrono sighed, head in hands. "Now, give me the story straight. Specific. No lies, no half-truths. We aren't in court yet." Pierre laughed at his own "joke."

Chrono looked up briefly before recounting his adventure of the last six hours (or three days, depending on who was asking). At the end of the story, Pierre leaned forward at stared the boy down long and hard. After what seemed a day, he leaned back again. "We're doomed."

"Yeah, no one will believe us."

"That's not the issue. The judge and jury, they are like-minded along with the Chancellor. And the Chancellor only takes cold, hard, facts. Supposing you truly traveled through time, did you bring any articles back with you?"

"No… wait, yes! My clothes! They're at home!"

"That's good." The lawyer scribbled some more. "However, we don't have time to retrieve any articles not on your person… anything else?"

"The gate key."

"This would be how you traveled through this portal, then? Do you have it?"

"No. It's Lucca's."

Pierre wrote again. "What else?"

"My sword. Don't bother. That's at home, too. Other than that, we left the past in the same condition we came."

For another five minutes the whole room was silent. Finally, Pierre stood, shook Chrono's hand, and said professionally: "See you at the trial, sir Chrono."

"Wait! That's all!"

Pierre looked back once as he left the room. "I'll think of something."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

No amount of anticipation could prepare Chrono for his entry into the courtroom. He felt he was in a giant, golden ring of fire – at least, that was the romantic description. In reality, he felt he was in trouble. Massive trouble.

The seats were arranged like bleachers at a sporting event, raised ten feet from the trial space and set in an arc. Already a crowd was gathering to watch the two teams face off. Chrono tilted his head back. Towering in front of him was a gargantuan of a stained-glass-window, mocking him with a picture of a blindfolded old man carrying the scales of justice. Chrono hoped for once that the man would open his eyes.

"Chrono!" He jumped and turned. There was his mother, in the front row on his left. She had brought Lucca along. Great. Apparently the tickets were selling cheap if she could afford two. Reluctantly he approached the row.

"Hi, mom," he croaked.

"Chrono, oh Chrono!" She was crying now, but she quickly regained control of herself and stared him in the eye, as only a mother could. "Chrono, be honest with me. Did you… did you do it?" Mom was losing it, he could tell, when the pre-game show distracted her from the fun of the real thing. "Please, Chrono…"

"Mom… no. I promise. It's all a lie."

She was overjoyed, but she didn't stop crying. Chrono could bear it no more, and backed into his seat at the center of the ring. Any moment, he thought, the doors would be opened, and the lions would be let loose.

"Chrono!"

_What now?_

It was Nadia. "Chrono!" She called from the front row on the right - Her father was nowhere to be seen. She waved and smiled, and Chrono knew right then that at least somebody believed in him.

"Court is now in session!" some voice boomed. It sounded impressive until Chrono saw its owner – a short, pudgy, balding man with a full red beard. The dwarf introduced the judge, Pierre, and the Chancellor, and then disappeared into the background.

The judge, a wan old man with a full gray mustache, pulled a sheet of paper from the folds of his robe. After carefully looking it over, he stuffed the paper back somewhere in his clothes, and began to speak with all the excitement of a sleeping sports announcer. "Will the prosecution please step forward." The Chancellor did. "What are the charges, Chancellor?"

With a gleeful _ahem!_ – the Chancellor pulled his own script out and began to read aloud. "First – Chrono, you are charged by the high court with kidnapping. Kidnapping with malicious intent!" He paused to let the accusation hang over the crowd as they all thought of their own definitions for _malicious_. "Second, abduction of a royal figure for monetary gain." Now the crowd was beginning to murmur. "A finally, an instability of integrity and character."

None of the charges were new to Chrono, but coming out of the Chancellor's mouth, he knew he had been set up. Pierre put an arm on his shoulder, more to steady himself than the boy.

"Is that all, Chancellor?" the judge yawned.

"Yes." He stepped back.

"The defense? Chrono, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty!" Pierre shouted.

"To all the charges?"

"To all the charges."

The judge sighed and took the sheet of paper from his robe again. "Chancellor, bring forth the evidence."

"Certainly." The old man stepped forward and eyed the crowd. "Here are the facts, ladies and gentlemen! It is true the boy only met the princess at the fair – but we cannot assume this was an accidental meeting. No, here, in my hand – " the Chancellor waved his sheet of paper – "are the signatures of twelve individuals who saw their meeting." He began reading. "Just before noon, Chrono was standing beneath Leene's bell. Seeing the princess, he formed his plan – when she wasn't looking, he stepped up to her and knocked her down. As the kind observer he stooped down to help her – but what for? I'll give you a hint: the boy is poor, our princess is rich. Everyone who saw the girl at the fair saw she carried with her a pendant, her emblem of royalty – worth millions in gold! So, he – "

"Objection!" Pierre cried, and stood. "Insinuation of character! The boy did not identify the girl as the princess."

The judge awoke briefly. "Is this true?"

"Yes. The girl never told him her name."

"Chancellor, is this true?"

"It cannot be!"

"Then continue."

He did, but not before giving the lawyer the eye. "The boy knew her all right – in fact, they spent the remainder of their documented time at the fair together. That is, until they both disappeared – for six hours! Six hours! What can a man do in six hours, I wonder?" He leered at Chrono. "Then, the two of them returned – this boy, he was wearing a new set of clothes! Where, and why, did he change? Those who saw them said they left the fair in a hurry, and the girl seemed dazed, out of focus, and thoroughly overworked. The boy was not seen again until he was arrested and brought forth!" The Chancellor uttered this last accusation in finality.

The judge took his cue. "Thank you, Chancellor. Pierre?"

Pierre stood, taking deep breaths. "People of the court!" His voice carried well, but there was an uncertain twinge in it. "You have heard the remarks from our esteemed Chancellor, but I tell you now none of it can be proven as he has spoken! All he was able to give you was speculation, assumption of character, and guilt by defamation!" He turned on the old man. "I believe you mentioned you had twelve signatures of men who saw Chrono and Nadia's meeting. What are their names? Or do we not have the privilege of knowing who is slandering this boy?

"As for the charge of abduction with intent for monetary gain – this is a false charge that does not require any more proof than the Chancellor himself provided. Was it not six hours, Chancellor, that the boy was missing? Now, people of the court, in all the stories of ransom you have heard – when was the last time a kidnapper returned the victim before receiving his ransom? Yet, the Chancellor openly admits that the boy returned to the fair with the girl only six hours after their departure. There was no ransom note written. There was no demand for ransom. Why? Because this boy could have no intent for ransom!

"You also say the boy is guilty of an instability of character and integrity. People, do not be confounded by this wording. In simple terms, he is accused of being insane and inherently violent. Anyone who has spoken with this boy can see the only character flaw he is guilty of is shyness. I request that charge be dropped, not only because it has no basis in the logical mind, but because it serves no purpose other than to slander the boy's name."

"As for all these charges, I will request the court adjourn until tomorrow morning, to allow me to collect the proof this boy had provided to me word-of-mouth." Pierre's voice still had that strange twinge of weakness, and his words fell at the end of the statement.

The Chancellor and the judge exchanged glances. "Chancellor?"

"No objection," he remarked, taking the bait, the wheels in his mind already turning.

_Whack!_ – "Court is adjourned until tomorrow morning at eight. And Chancellor, I want to see these twelve signatures." The last comment was not a threat or a challenge.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What's going on?" Chrono questioned, following the quick heels of his lawyer.

"I'm buying us some time. Hurry, back to your cell – let's write down every name you can think of, people who know you. Write down the items you wanted me to find. We're going to prove the dirty rat wrong, and I don't care how!"

"No, I mean, what are you thinking?"

Pierre stopped and faced the boy. "You're going to have to play along with me. If we show weakness, the enemy will attack. If we merely say we are weak... the enemy will find himself against a very threatening force!"


	14. VI: The Trial 3

**The Trial**

Chrono felt he had barely departed the gigantic courtroom, yet here he was again this morning. Apparently he was becoming quite the popular attraction; the crowd seemed twice as large as the previous morning's, and Chrono would not have been surprised if they had bought confections to munch while they watched the next season of this exciting event.

The part he didn't understand is why everyone had to be re-introduced. If nobody could remember who anyone was after one day, then how could they be expected to remember all this evidence? Never mind that. At least all the names were the same from day to day. He couldn't help but think the trial would be so much quicker if the teams skipped the face-off.

And, he had no idea what on earth Pierre had cooked up in his absence. The lawyer had made no visits to the cell and still told him nothing. He came into the courtroom with, what – a shiver? Chrono couldn't believe it until Pierre sat beside him with a wink.

"Chancellor, you may begin." The judge was a little more alert today, but he still looked like he had missed his appointment with Mr. Sandman.

"Certainly, your honor." After the obligatory _ahem!_ – the Chancellor pulled a roll of paper from somewhere in his tunic. "Yesterday morning I provided the signatures of twelve men who saw the meeting between this young man and the princess. Here," he handed the roll to the judge, "are the twelve signatures. Read them carefully. I don't want to have to bring the men in myself."

Once he finished reading, the judge spoke. "Is this all you have, Chancellor?"

"For now, yes."

"Then sit down. Pierre?"

The lawyer stood. "I would like to call my first witness!" With that, he motioned to the back of the room. Everyone's eyes went to the far door, from where came…

Mom! Chrono almost stood up himself but held his peace. He could see the Chancellor doing the same. His mother calmly walked to the witness chair and sat, her hands folded in her lap. She was scared – Chrono could tell as she made her oath. _Be strong, Mom! Be strong!_

Pierre approached Mom in as friendly a manner as a wooden pole could. "Please, ma'am, would you tell everyone who you are."

"Certainly. I am Chrono's mother."

Pierre scrunched his brow. "Surely you have a name?"

"Liza."

"Thank you, Liza. Now, tell me, please – why was your son not at home two days ago?"

Mom's response was quick. "He was at the millennial fair, of course."

"How long was he gone?"

"Just about all day."

"That didn't worry you?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"He was excited to be there, I suppose."

Pierre cringed at those last two words. "So, when he came home?"

"He brought the girl in."

"Why?"

"I don't know. He said he was on his way to take her home, and was only checking in with me."

"And what time was that?"

"About six-thirty, I'd say."

Pierre smiled and faced the Chancellor. "You have your facts, Chancellor. What time did you first find Nadia, then? When was she returned?"

"Seven," the Chancellor grumbled.

"So, then," Pierre returned to Mom. "Chrono told the truth… good. Ma'am, I have just one more question: does your boy do… strange things? Does he display any malfeasance of character? Violence?"

Mom was indignant. "No! Chrono would never harm any living thing!"

"Your honor, I have no more questions."

"But I do!" the Chancellor interjected. As Pierre came down, he came up, and Mom visibly tried to scoot as far away from the man as possible. "Now, Liza, you say Chrono brought the girl into your home, right?" Mom only nodded. "But you did not recognize her as the princess." She nodded again. "Why?"

"I knew she looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place her face yet."

"Is that all?"

"Well, no. I didn't get her real name."

"What was that?" The Chancellor smelled fresh meat. "Chrono did not tell you her name?"

"No."

"Mark that, everyone! Now, one more question. It is true that your boy has no inclination toward violence, yes?" Mom nodded again. "However, he does display some... well, oddities, does he not?"

"I'm not sure what you mean…"

"Is he sociable? Does he display an outgoing character? Or does he keep to himself – brooding or sulking often?"

"Oh, no, my son is quite shy."

The Chancellor seemed a little disappointed, but continued. "Your honor, I have no more questions."

"Pierre?" the judge looked up. "Is that all?"

"No, your honor. I have another witness – in the case the boy's mother could not prove that Chrono has committed no crime." He pointed to the back door, and motioned for a man to enter. Once the man drew closer, Chrono recognized him – the car driver!

"Let's make this quick, shall we?" Pierre commented as he motioned for the driver to have a seat. He pointed at Chrono. "Do you remember this young man?"

"Of course," the man half-drawled, half-slurred.

"Where from?"

"He was in my car."

"On what day?"

"A couple of days ago… two days ago, actually."

"That's right. What time was it again?"

"Almost seven."

"And the boy, he had an escort."

"Yeah, that's right. I'd never forget that kind of pretty face."

"Describe for us this girl."

The man bit his lower lip as he recalled her. "Let's see… she was blond. That much… uh, her hair was in some kind of ponytail, right! And she wore this blue-ish… thing."

Pierre turned to the Chancellor. "I believe this matches the outfit your twelve saw Nadia wearing when she and Chrono met." Then he returned to the driver. "Thank you, sir. I have no further questions."

There was a pause before the judge spoke up. "Chancellor."

The old man seethed. "No questions."

"Then, Pierre, do you have any further witnesses?"

"Yes. I call Lucca, Chrono's best friend, to the chair." At that, the Chancellor started, but contained his rage for now. The lawyer pointed to the back, and in sauntered Lucca, trading an assuring (and somewhat unnerving) glance with Chrono.

"Lucca, you are truly Chrono's best friend?"

"Yes."

"You were present at the fair?" She nodded. "What were you doing?"

"I was demonstrating my new science project."

"What was this project?"

"The Telepod. It's a teleportation device." She received several chuckles. "It only teleported people about ten feet, but it worked. I tried it on Chrono, and he came out okay. The trouble happened when the girl got in. Her pendant reacted with… well, the machinery, and she was teleported through time."

The crowd was strangely silent until the Chancellor broke the ice with a hearty guffaw. Immediately the crowd joined in while the old man watched to see which individuals would be getting healthy raises by tomorrow. Pierre just ignored them and continued. "The girl disappeared?"

"Well, of course, that's what I said."

"What happened next."

"Chrono followed after her."

"How?"

"He borrowed the girl's pendant."

"So he went through time?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"After they went, I constructed a gate key so I could follow. The gate key basically recreates the effect of the malfunction at the Telepod, and opens the portal."

Pierre knew he had to close this fast, before the crowd's irritation went beyond their control. "Do you have this gate key?"

"Yes." With that, Lucca smartly pulled the disc out of her pocket.

"Objection!" cried the Chancellor. "This is absolutely absurd! Anybody can take a - "

The judge briefly awoke. "Objection overruled. Pierre?"

"One last thing. I asked the boy's mother, now I will ask you. Tell me a little of your friend's character. Is he prone to insanity or violence?"

"He's a silly boy, but he's not insane or violent." Lucca laughed.

"Thank you, Lucca. Chancellor, it's your turn."

"With pleasure." The old man hopped to the witness chair. "So, Lucca, what do you mean when you say _silly_ boy?"

"I think you can figure that out yourself."

"Answer the question, please."

"He's just unusual."

"Ah – and by unusual?"

Chrono could see Lucca had a hard time complimenting her friend. "I mean he is a very unique person! I'm sure you don't need much more than that!"

"You're right, then. The audience has heard all they need. Next – you say you went through time. How long were you gone?"

"Six hours, of course."

"You were in the portal for six hours?"

"Well, no."

"Then what were you doing in that time?"

"To be honest, since I didn't follow for several hours, I wasn't present the whole time."

The Chancellor eyed Chrono. "Ah, so you didn't see what they did."

"No, sir."

"Thank you. I have no further questions, your honor."

The judge pulled his sheet of paper out again. "Pierre?"

Chrono held his breath during a long silence. So far his lawyer had managed only to discount the charges of ransom and insanity, but the main charge, the lethal weapon, was still in the Chancellor's hands, and that old man sure played the crowd well.

Finally Pierre stood. "I have one final witness." _Who else can you pull, Pierre? The princess is under the Chancellor's thumb! You've used up all the other witnesses. Nobody else saw us!_

The lawyer must have purposefully kept silent so long before continuing. "I call Marle to the stand." Everyone began murmuring. Who is this Marle? In between the commotion, Pierre and Chrono shared a wink.

When Marle stepped in the room, Chrono could hardly recognize her. She concealed herself in a long, hooded black cloak, none of her face showing. She must have worn some tall shoes because she seemed to have grown six or seven inches since her visit with him yesterday. He wasn't totally sure how the guards had been fooled, but sighed with relief to see her enter.

Pierre waited until she'd sat and said her oath before making any move. Emotionlessly, he stood and began. "Now, Marle, you know this Chrono, right?"

The figure only nodded.

"You were at the science project with him, right?" Again, it nodded. "And you saw him with the girl, right? Good. You also saw him leave, is that correct. Thought so. And you saw him enter the car with the girl. Did he return home alone?" The figure nodded, and the Chancellor began to steam. Who was this new addition? "Good. In all the dealings you had, or witnessed, with Chrono, he presented himself as a sane and justified individual? Good. Outside, you told me the boy treated the girl like a gentleman. That is the truth? Of course it is. You wouldn't lie? No. He held her hand? No?" Pierre grinned and faced the crowd. "Did he ever hold her at all? No? Are you sure? Did he even touch her once? No?" he cried with mock awe.

"Did he know the girl? Did she ever tell him who she was? No? Did he ask her name? Yes! Did she give it? No! He never figured out who she was? No, and yes? What do you mean, no and yes… somewhere during his six hour disappearance, he must have learned who she was, because he returned knowing her? I understand. And he still did not touch her – AND he returned the pendant? Ah… then I have no more questions, your honor." Pierre smiled a final smile and sat resolute and detached from any emotion.

"Chancellor?" It was the judge. "Do you have anything to say?"

"Oh, I do!" He jumped up, his white beard bristling in all directions. He approached the girl like a lion approaches its prey. "Now, sir, tell me your name again?" The figure didn't say anything. "What is your name?" It looked at Pierre. "No! He isn't going to tell anyone your name. You are… no? Are you suddenly too shy? I see. Why don't you tell everyone here your name, please? Are you frightened? Don't be, then, and tell us the truth!" It looked at Pierre again, who invisibly nodded approval. The figure stood and whipped off its cloak.

The Chancellor shared the world's loudest gasp with the crowd. There was the princess Nadia herself, standing right there before him!

"I'll tell you my name!" She shouted. "I'm the Princess! And what I say, goes! Chrono is innocent, I say! I was with him the whole time – we did go back in time, for days – and he rescued me and brought me home! If anyone should be arrested, it should be you, Chancellor, for arresting an innocent person!"

Pierre put his head in his hands. "_Oh, don't act crazy, they won't believe you!_"

"We traveled to the past, to the Mystic War! What I am telling you is true! And we were stranded there until Lucca came to get us! And Chrono never laid a hand on me for three days!"

_WHACK! WHACK!_ "Order! Order!"

"Guards!" The Chancellor had held his composure long enough. "Take the girl back to her room! She is obviously mad! See she doesn't escape this time!"

Once Nadia had been removed, the judge took control. "All right, Pierre, that is all? No more tricks?"

"Just one more, your honor," Pierre stated. He pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. "I have here, a written confession from Princess Nadia! All she has said this morning, and more, is written on this page!"

"Objection!" cried the Chancellor. "We all can see the girl is plainly mad from trauma! How can any of us really believe you now!"

"Chancellor!" the judge appeared stern, for once, with a look that said _don't blow this!_ "Control yourself! Pierre, please bring me that paper." He did. "Do you have anything else?"

"No, the defense rests."

"Chancellor?"

He smiled gleefully. "I so happen to have with me – one final piece of evidence! It was in the princess's pocket upon her return!"

"Chancellor, we do not have time for this. Just bring it forth."

"I have here – a ransom note – written by none other than this young boy, Chrono!" Pierre and his client jumped right out of their seats. "Don't be so shocked, boys. Your honor, here it is. You may read it yourself!"

"No thank you, Chancellor. I've had enough of this madhouse. Please, are both of you finished?"

"Yes, your honor," was the dual reply.

"Then, Chancellor, you may begin your closing remarks."

"Certainly, your honor." Was it his imagination, or did Chrono hear a mischievous chuckle from the Chancellor? (Probably his imagination.) "People of the court, and those of you gathered to watch today – you have seen the evidence presented before you. This boy is clearly guilty of all charges – he disappeared with the girl for several hours, remember? In that time, he so severely traumatized her that she cannot remember what happened then. We also have the ransom note he wrote – a demand for ten million gold coins! Clearly we are dealing with a severely unbalanced character! Members of the court, you would be fools to dismiss the boy as innocent. That is all that needs to be said, for the evidence speaks for itself."

As the Chancellor stepped down, Pierre nudged Chrono. "Do not say a word!" The lawyer stood and cleared his throat.

"People of the court, the Chancellor only said one truth is his last statement – that the evidence speaks for itself. That is true, members of the court. If you took any notice of this boy at all, did you not see how well he has behaved himself through this entire trial. Surely a boy of unstable character would have shown his insanity by now? As for the ransom note – I dismiss it as faulty evidence. Even if the boy had written such a note, would he have returned the girl without the ten million coins in gold? Think for yourself about that. And as for this charge of kidnapping, you have heard the witnesses. All four attested to the fact that Chrono returned the girl to her home, that he never so much as touched her, he returned the pendant, he followed her into the portal to save her, and so on and so forth. There is more than enough evidence from these four to prove that Chrono could not have any malicious intent, even the intent of the minor kidnapping of a little girl. In short, people of the court, you would be sadly mistaken to charge this boy of even a misdemeanor." Pierre sat.

_WHACK!_ The judge stood. "Will the members please step forward and give me the verdicts."

On cue, the first member came to the throne and handed the judge a slip of paper. With more than enough crinkling and crackling, the judge unfolded it (though it had been folded several times) and read aloud. "Not guilty."

The Chancellor marked the member with a lean stare, then produced a sheet of paper and began writing.

Another member approached the judge's throne. "Not guilty!" The Chancellor again wrote something on his paper.

And the third. "Guilty!"

And the fourth. "Guilty!" With each, the Chancellor took his notes. Pierre began to clasp the underside of his chair.

"Guilty!" was the fifth verdict. Two more to go.

The sixth man came forward. "Not guilty!"

Chrono's head began to swim. Of course his final verdict would depend on the last vote to tip the balance. He would have expected too much to ask for a clear 7-0 not guilty, right? Why were these kinds of cases cut so close?

The final member approached the throne. Was that his imagination, or did Chrono just see the judge switching the papers? "Guilty!" the judge proclaimed. All at once the crowd was up in arms – against the judge, the Chancellor, Pierre, Chrono, each other.

_WHACK! WHACK!_ "Order!" _WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK! _"I said order!" For once the judge displayed some passion. "Everyone be quiet! No more noise!" With that, he sat and folded his hands ever so benevolently. "Chrono, you are found guilty to all three charges and sentenced to a stay of three days in prison, after which you are to be executed at the stroke of noon." _WHACK!_ No more could be said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I _said_ it would take forever to update, but this chapter went really fast for me, if for no other reason than I was excited writing (and I hope you were excited reading it). I really doubt the next chapter will come along so quickly, so don't hold your breath.

I know I've added a bunch of characters - even in this chapter: Benny, Corny, Milton, and the other guards. I'm trying to keep this as accurate as possible, but sometimes I do this anyway. The trick is to give each one of these people their own character without distracting from the overall story.

Which brings me to the main point of this note. For those of you who know the story, you should know kind of what happens next. I would like some input on how you think it should happen. Your input won't change anything I write unless you tell me something better than I planned (very high chances, folks). I still want to see what goes through your minds, though. Now, for those of you who do not know the story, or haven't fully completed the game, then just sit back and wait for me to figure out what comes next.


	15. VII: The Rescue

**Chapter VII – The Rescue**

Minutes later Chrono found himself back at the palace, only this time his hands were firmly cuffed behind his back. And – this time, he would be going downstairs. The Chancellor seemed to revel in that thought.

Benny and Corny were on either side, the Chancellor on their heels, as they marched Chrono past his original "cell," to the administrator's office – which was not a whole lot different than the cell. "Sir?" the clones stepped into the brightly lit complex, where a very prim and proper young gentleman sat writing some legal jargon on a pad of paper.

The young man glanced up, every last blonde hair perfectly in place. "Yes? Oh, please, enter."

The Chancellor kicked Chrono in the leg, and he fell to his knees in the office. "I'm sure you've heard of this child?"

"Somewhat, yes." The administrator stood and crossed to the boy. "Do you have his papers?"

"Certainly." The Chancellor pulled yet another paper from his tunic. "The boy is to be executed in three days."

"Boy!" It was the administrator. "Chrono. Get up, please." He turned to the Chancellor. "This isn't the face of a kidnapper. A misdemeanor? A felony?"

"Looks deceive, sir."

"Very well. Cell 305 is open and ready for an inmate. And he'll only be there three days?"

"Read the papers yourself, sir."

"In my spare time," the administrator joked, a casual smile creasing his jaw. "Speaking of time, it is running ever short, so I would appreciate if I were left alone to business."

"Certainly, sir."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Benny and Corny had not been allowed to escort Chrono "downstairs." Only the Chancellor remained, but he soon picked up his own escorts: two gargantuans in full steel armor, inside and out. His hands were still cuffed behind his back, and the cufflinks were beginning to seriously itch.

Chrono was headed for cell 305 – simply, the fifth cell on the third sub-floor, the deepest level as well as the dankest. The cell probably hadn't been even looked at for years. Not only would he be able to write his name in the dust, but he could create a miniature dust bunny model of the entire castle. He got to feel its thickness up close as he was ever so gently thrown to the floor, face first.

Before he could recover from the fall, he felt a steel boot nail him in the gut. "Get in, you rat!" one of the guards bellowed, kicking him again in the back. Soon the other one joined in, kicking him in the legs.

"Stop!" the Chancellor cried. "Don't kill him yet, you morons!" The guards instantly stopped, still hovering over the boy's body. "His legs are still dangling out – get him in, quick." They complied. "Unchain him. He'll need to eat eventually." With that, the Chancellor huffed away.

Once Chrono had been deposited fully downstairs, the guards set to work unchaining him. "Filthy rat you are," one growled. "Enjoy your last three days on the planet, you will – scum. We'll be back." He stood and departed.

The other began to follow, but stopped and turned around. After a brief internal struggle, he charged the floor and gave Chrono one last, good kick in the gut before he, too, left the boy alone on the dank and dripping floor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Benny glanced up from working just as the Chancellor darkened his room, followed by two gargantuans. "Sir." He rose to attention.

"Sit down, Benjamin." The old man motioned to the thugs. In unison, they marched to the front of his desk. "Sorry to interrupt your work."

"Oh, no. I was just reviewing Chrono's case."

"Excuse me, what?"

"Chrono's case. I have the court transcript as well as all the collected evidence, and I am reviewing the case." Slowly Benny reached for the drawer on the underside of his desk.

"You don't need to do that. The verdict is final, and the boy dies in three days. Pierre has it all taken care of."

"That's a lie, sir." His hand was on the drawer now.

"Please, give me the transcript."

"Which copy, sir?"

"Give it to me, please, right now."

Benny's hand tensed on the drawer. If any of these three made a false move, they'd be meeting their maker with an extra sinus cavity. "Sir, this is not the original transcript. I made copies and distributed them through the legal department."

"Then, please give me that copy. I have yet to see the transcript."

"As you wish, sir." He shuffled some papers with his free hand and pushed them across the desk. One of the goons picked them up.

"Give me that!" The Chancellor leapt and snatched the papers out of his aide's hands. "Thank you for your time, Benjamin – and I would spend my time on a matter of more legal importance than that of this rapist."

Benny's hand moved from the drawer.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono curled up on the bed. How long had it been? He'd lost all track of time… it all depended on how much time passed in between each drip from the ceiling. He'd counted about 783 drips.

That was since he flopped onto that bed in the first place. He'd immediately regretted that, for the bed was harder than a plate of stale rock. However, he had enjoyed the privilege of putting a blanket over his body, though he had the feeling it used to be a table napkin.

How much time had gone by? Maybe he'd fallen asleep somewhere. There wasn't much else to do. This cell had no writing desk and no room service. He began to relish the though of his execution only because he would leave this filthy room.

His thoughts were interrupted by a rattling at the bars. Chrono groaned and strained to see who was there. He almost jumped out of bed at the sight – Nadia! She had come all the way down here?

With a groan, Chrono hauled himself out of the bed and toward the door. His face fell right to the floor when he saw her escort. Milton. "Hello," he muttered to the both of them. "What brings you down here to see me?"

"Chrono, I – " Nadia began.

He cut her off. "That was a rhetorical question. Never mind." He paused a moment as if considering his next words. "Boy, I'm really glad to see you… even if this is the last time."

"No, no, Chrono – don't lose hope." He could tell it was she who needed the hope. "You'll be out soon. Really. I mean, who honestly believes you kidnapped and… took me? I mean, come on, I swore up and down to Daddy and the Chancellor, but they won't do anything."

"The king doesn't even believe you?"

Nadia winced. "This place is a dump! When was the last time it was cleaned!"

"You're hearing me, but you're not listening."

"That's not true! I mean – " She bit her lip, fighting back a sob. Chrono was a little annoyed to have to put up with an emotional woman, but he was glad at least someone had spilled tears over him. "Listen, I just came to say good-bye, so I should just go."

"Yes, you should."

Nadia gave Chrono one last pathetic look before she turned to leave. "Oh! Milton!" Chrono reached through the cell bars and grabbed his coat. "Milton! What's going on out there?"

The guard remained as rigid as possible. "The lawyers are reviewing your case."

"What's that supposed to mean? Am I getting out of here?"

Milton didn't respond.

"Come on! Where's Pierre!"

The guard coughed at that. "Pierre… it seems your lawyer has suffered a fatal heart attack, shortly after your trial. Bad diet, they say. What a coincidence."

"No way! There's no way he could have an attack right now!"

"Oh, he had a heart attack – but it wasn't from any high-cholesterol diet, I can assure you."

"Then how on earth do I get out of here?"

"Another lawyer has been arranged to take your case. He'll be here in three days."

"Three days! Milton – I die in two."

The guard looked away and cleared his throat. "Listen, Nadia has been down here far too long. I need to take her back to the castle." He turned on his heels and grabbed the princess's hand, escorting her through the gaping mouth of a door.

Chrono slipped away from the bars. _Well, that's that. Your case is finished._ His foot nicked something on the floor. _What's this – food? It must have been slipped in while I was in bed._ Not surprisingly, his "dinner" did little to whet his appetite. It had probably been shuffled from the dog's leftovers. He kicked it under the bed. _Let the rats have it – at least food will do them good!_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"All right, then – everything is ready."

Lucca sat on her bed, surrounded by a mountain range of junk. Most of it was new, though some of it was the accumulation of deserted projects and experiments. She slapped one suitcase shut and kicked it to her door – nearly clipping several teetering gizmos. Did she have the note? Yes – she was holding it in her hand – it wasn't going anywhere.

She stood, the folds of her bed springing to their original shape, knocking over a pile of metal whatchamacallits. Oh yes – the gate key – can't forget that! She hurried to the fallen clutter. In fact, she should keep this with her at all times!

The note fell out of her hand. Oops! She leaned over and gently picked it up, but her helmet fell right off her head. It clattered to the floor, her guns spilling out under the bed. Can't forget these, either! She knelt and retrieved her new weaponry. Once she had everything recollected, she rose and backed out her door.

She had to return to pick up the suitcase.

Quietly, she stole into the kitchen and plastered the note to the wall. Quickly she reviewed it for spelling errors before continuing toward the door. Lucca fought the urge to tear the note off and rewrite it for the umpteenth time. But, no, they couldn't know the truth – yet. Maybe she would be back.

THUMP!

Oh, no – she dropped the suitcase. Now they'd wake up! Hurry – out the door!

She was gone as a voice called out. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Don't worry, Lara, the house makes noises all the time."

"This was not the usual noise, Taban."

"Just go back to sleep…"

"No, Taban. Please go check."

"Fine." There was a rustling of covers.

"Be careful – don't trip over the wheelchair."

"Go to sleep, honey. I'll be right back."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Eventually Chrono grew so weak and hungry that even the glop served him twice a day looked appetizing. He never finished the "meals," but he greedily consumed all the water, even if it wasn't completely clean. Luckily enough for him, the amount of rat inmates wasn't so much that Chrono couldn't fend them off by himself. By the end of the second day, the rats stopped bothering him.

His boredom was interrupted by echoing footsteps. Now who dared to pay him a visit? Chrono sat up.

It was the Chancellor, of all people. Chrono briefly considered a death-match, but changed his mind when he saw the escort – another gargantuan in steel armor. Maybe it was one of the guards he had seen before, but that didn't matter. He knew he was in for an unpleasant visit.

The Chancellor flipped a lever, and the cage slowly opened. _Can I run for it? Maybe if I – ah – stupid! You'll make it ten feet before you're shish-ka-Chrono._ The lean old man and his escort stepped inside.

"Hello, again, Chrono." The old man's voice was not the usual – something more sinister… "Tomorrow's the big day. Are you ready for your next quest?"

Chrono tried not to show any confusion when he asked "what?"

"Don't lie to me!" the Chancellor snapped. On cue, the guard pulled out his sword. "No – don't kill the boy! What good would that do? Now – Chrono, let us continue.

"I know you are an innocent young child. That much is obvious to us all. But, sadly, you seem to have got yourself in a mess you can't get out of. Why you would run away with a strange girl, I don't know – but you did, and I am proud. Of course, we could not get you to actually _perform_ the deed – I suppose I misjudged you, for I had never met you until you came to the castle." He read Chrono's surprise. "Of course I knew who you were – I have been watching you. Did you really think Nadia was bright enough to escape the palace on her own?"

Chrono couldn't help but roll his eyes. _Please. Another sinister confession. Why waste my time.  
_

"Yes, you do not understand why I am telling you this, do you? Then I guess it is too early. You do not know what I seek."

Chrono snapped to attention at the word _early_.

"Don't act so surprised, Chrono. If it is too early – you will go to your grave innocent, and I will look elsewhere. Do not lie to me, now. If you really know what I am talking about… please show me a sign."

"How can I?" Chrono quipped. "You haven't used a single concrete noun since you walked in here. Besides, what good would it do me to tell you?"

"I promise to let you live. Don't think I am toying with you. I may not be your greatest friend, but I am your only friend! When I make a promise – you can trust my word."

"What are you talking about? Honestly, I don't know!"

WHACK! Suddenly Chrono saw stars where the ceiling should be. The gargantuan stood above him, poised for another strike.

"Calm yourself! The boy is as good as dead. He never found anything! Let's go." With that, the Chancellor stormed out of the cage. The guard looked after him, kicked Chrono one more time in the gut for good measure, and then followed the old man.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Corny fixed his hair for the nineteenth time before finally ascending the stairs. "Remember to smile, now… and be cordial. She's been through a lot anyway," he muttered to himself.

His suave smile instantly fell off his face. Where did these two come from? "Hello?" he called in his friendliest tone. "Er… hello." The two gargantuans did not move from the top of the stairs. Corny took a deep breath and tried to pass as nonchalantly as possible.

"Sir!" one called in a voice not unlike a meat grinder. "You cannot pass."

"Excuse me?"

"This room is restricted!"

"I've just come to bring some flowers, for the princess." He pulled the gift from behind his back to prove his errand. "I'll be in and out in a minute."

"No one is allowed through."

"That's nonsense."

"No one, not even the princess herself, may enter without approval from the King and a royal escort."

"But I am a royal escort!"

"Sorry – sir, you must understand, the princess has suffered severe trauma. She must rest for a while."

"May I leave the flowers here?"

"Sorry, lover boy, but no."

The young man only sighed and returned down the stairs. Lover boy – that was a good one.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

How long Chrono lay on the floor, he didn't know. All he could feel was the throbbing of his head and the pain in his stomach. He'd eaten as much of that disgusting slop as he could manage without retching. Still, he felt he hadn't eaten since the trial.

Eventually he just succumbed to the voices in his head, which were presently engaged in a spectacular show of words.

_No! You can make it – you aren't going to die today._

_Yeah right – you heard the Chancellor – he knew you were innocent and he still had you killed. You really think he's going to change his mind?_

_There is a way! There is a way!_

_No! He has it in for you. Face it – he won, you lost._

_What did he have against me?_

_You are a worthless NOBODY! That's what he had in for you._

_I did nothing wrong!_

_  
Did you do nothing wrong? Why did you treat the princess like you did – after you learned who she was? You hated her – that's what you did. You hated the fact she was a princess!_

_  
That is not true!_

_Quiet! Your time is over._

Chrono held his hands over his ears, as if that would stop the noise in his head. He crawled back into the bed – at least he would be more comfortable… if comfortable was the appropriate word.

His thoughts were interrupted by more footsteps. _Time's up. There's no way out now._

Milton! "It's time, Chrono," the guard droned. "Let's go." He opened the cage, mourning in his heart the death of another innocent at his hand.


	16. VII: The Rescue 2

**The Rescue**

Less than five minutes later Chrono found himself sitting in the latest cell. It wasn't long before he found the room's only chair (while groping in the dark). Milton had come and and he had gone, leaving the door slightly ajar. For a moment, Chrono considered making some kind of escape, but he thought better of it and sat down again, resigning himself to watching the white outline of the doorjamb and counting how many shadows passed by.

His count was just above ten when Milton returned, showering the room with light. He brought with him some extra bodyguards. Chrono recognized a few of them instantly – there was Benny, looking suspiciously professional, as usual. The Chancellor also came by, with front row tickets Chrono was sure. There were about four other castle guards, who could serve no other purpose than intimidation, and they looked like they really wished they had better things to do. And, finally, there was one more visitor, who by all appearances was another prisoner awaiting his death. He had the same pale demeanor that Chrono had, only a little worse, and drooped his head to his chest, showing his matted strawberry hair.

Chrono stretched in his seat and tried to change his position. As soon as he realized there was no back to the chair, he leapt to his feet. The guillotine! So that's how they were going to get rid of him! And he had been sitting where countless other victims had lost their heads. He gave an involuntary shudder.

"Sit him down, please," the Chancellor ordered. Immediately, two of the guards stepped forward and clasped the boy's shoulders. Chrono was shoved back onto the guillotine and positioned appropriately. Then they slid the wooden barrier in place. Once their task was complete, they backed toward the wall with the other guards.

Milton stood by the lever for half a minute before turning to the Chancellor. "Sir?"

"What are you waiting for?"

The executioner turned toward Benny. "Is he allowed in here?"

Benny showed no emotion. "No."

"What? Is that a law?" The Chancellor spat, his hat bobbling across his head.

"Yes. No one is allowed in this room, save for the execution party. Oh, and the criminals to be executed," he added, referring to Chrono and the other boy.

"You just made up that law! I want to see this boy die!"

"Sir, you cannot be here." The others were adamant.

"What if we bring you his head?"

"Quiet!" Benny raised a hand. "Chancellor, I'm sorry you could not participate, but if you don't get out I will force you out myself."

The Chancellor was about to retort, but held his temper, turned on his heels, and marched out of the room.

Now Milton stood above the lever again, his hand hovering over the death switch. Chrono shut his eyes, awaiting a hot steel blade in his throat. After twenty seconds, and he was breathing, he popped one eye open. Milton still hovered over the switch, but now looked across the room.

Chrono craned his neck as best he could, but it did no good. All he could see was the giant blade hovering over his face.

"Milton?" It was Benny… something strange was in his voice. The executioner nodded. BANG! He crumpled to the floor. Chrono could hear the other four guards jump into action, but after several more sharp reports, they all hit the floor.

Next thing he knew, Chrono was being lifted off of the guillotine. "Chrono!" Benny was staring him in the eye. "Get to the stairs – third door on the right, straight until the end of the smallest corridor. Go all the way to the top and go across the bridge. The warden's office is to your left. Go up those stairs and you should be in the castle. Corny should get you out from there. Now take this gun to Lucca!" With that, Benny pointed the weapon at his own chest. BANG! He hit the floor.

Chrono stood a few moments over the body, then knelt to retrieve the gun. Something very wet and red was oozing from the guard's chest. Chrono gasped and ripped open Benny's vest. "Of course." The guard had secured himself a steel plate…

Chrono rose to his feet again, holding the gun. He stared at the weapon momentarily before glancing back to Benny. Hmm – he wore gloves.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aside from the fact that Chrono had been tossed in jail for three days on a trumped up charge, beaten, denied proper nutrition, nearly killed, then subjected to a near suicide, he was really in great physical condition. He found the strength to stand on his own two feet for more than a few minutes at a time, and could even talk now and then. The other boy followed him out of the execution room, appearing as flabbergasted as Chrono felt. _No time to delay, I need to get out of here – now which way was it?_

He mustered all his strength and sprinted across the hall. "Wait!" It was the other boy. His call stopped Chrono in his tracks. "Wait! Not so fast! I can't run so well…" Chrono returned to the boy. _Aagh! He'll slow me down – but I can't simply leave him here – this close to freedom… can I? _"Can you help me, please? I've been here for a month, I think. I don't have my energy…"

Chrono only nodded his head. _You'll find it, trust me._

"Do you know the way out?" the other boy asked. "I can't remember a word Benny told you. Which door is it?" The boy meandered down the hall.

"Third on the right. I think." _What did Benny not tell me?_

"Thanks… please, help me out of here. You're the one with the weapon…" Chrono pulled the gun out of his pocket. What kind of weapon was this…? "I can't go myself."

"Who… who are you?"

"I'm Fritz. I'd tell you more, but… if we get out of here, stop by the Truce marketplace. I'll be there to help you right away…" The boy smiled sarcastically. "Now, please, lead the way."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The two runaways were quite grateful that the hallway was unoccupied. Even then, they slinked across underneath the floor, as if the light were to alarm the guards if it caught a glimpse of them. The hallway seemed so much longer now, especially as they crawled at a pace just faster than a speeding glacier. Thus, they had plenty of time to worry and analyze every last noise that they did not produce – and there were plenty of those. There were drips from dank ceilings, footsteps from the floors above echoing through cracks in the stonework or ventilation shafts, and the occasional coughs from other doomed prisoners. Chrono was tempted to examine the cells and see who else was trapped downstairs, but he didn't want anyone to have any reason to alarm the guards. That is, if anyone even had enough interest left in them to inspect those strange footsteps creeping across the corridor. Not to mention that he wasn't interested in seeing familiar faces.

In due time, the two reached the staircase, and naturally stopped at the foot. Chrono checked his weapon for the umpteenth time, and Fritz took the time to fix his collar. After an urging from the other boy, Chrono took the first step. And the second. And the third. Any second now, the door above would burst open, revealing several giant, metallic figures, thirsty for blood.

Sixteen steps later, the door was still shut. Chrono and Fritz both stood still and in great humility waited for the other boy to open the door. "Well," the other boy sighed, "what are we waiting for? As if the door were to open itself or something." He reached out and cranked the handle – the door opened easily, if not quietly. Fritz hesitated at the first creak, then continued; slowly, but surely, the door crept out, the sound amplified to a volume level reminiscent of a nuclear explosion.

Chrono nearly pushed the boy through the door, hurrying him further up the stairs. The footsteps below seemed to be coming closer, though as they ran, the boys knew their minds were only playing tricks on them. Or so they hoped.

They only knew for sure once they had come through the barred doors at the top of the stairs. Suddenly the dungeon exploded into night, and the chilly air pierced their skin. "Which way do we go now?" Fritz whispered just before the world's loudest alarm screamed in his ear.

"I think we've been found out," Chrono whispered.

"Are you sure?" quipped the other boy.

"Quick, which way were we supposed to go?"

"I think it was left?"

"Right?"

"Or," they both said, "across this bridge right here." They both giggled at themselves.

Chrono looked both ways as if crossing a street before stepping onto the bridge. From this side, the bridge appeared to extend into the mountains miles beyond the castle. It seemed even longer, running all the way across it.

They skidded to a stop as two of the steel gargantuans appeared right in front of them. In fact, the soldiers were equally surprised, but instinctively pulled out their huge sabers. "What?" one of them growled, Chrono couldn't tell which. The gaurd immediately went to impress the boys with his intelligent grasp of language. "You – are… who are… what…"

The second soldier quickly grew impatient and slammed his fist into the first's heavily armored stomach. Then, he pointed his sword directly into Fritz's face.

"Stay here, and do not move." The voice was surprisingly pleasant for the figure, which kicked the other soldier so that all of Guardia could hear a tinny crash. "Get the Chancellor." The first gargantuan hurried off at a pace unfitting a metal behemoth. The other didn't say more, for fear his language skills wouldn't hold out much longer. He just held the sword at Fritz's head and made threatening gestures.

It seemed a few hours passed before Chrono remembered his gun. In a heroic fashion, he whipped it out directly to the soldier's head. The guard actually seemed surprised by the turn of events, and now that his partner had scurried away to get the Chancellor – well, at least no one was around to hear them or close enough to care.

"Put that down." Chrono didn't register the command until the soldier had repeated it twice. "Put away the gun, or this boy dies."

_Please, as if I haven't heard that kind of a threat before._ BANG! The guard fell to the stone, a gaping hole in his helmet. Neither boy dared to look to see what remained inside the shattered armor. They just stood in shock at the dead man, Chrono wringing his hands from the recoil. Only when he felt Fritz tugging his arm did Chrono remember where he was. "Hey, we're almost there."

"Oh, right." Chrono awkwardly tried to find a place to put the gun, but Fritz was pulling quite hard. "Sorry. I'm coming. Coming."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Neither boy was surprised to find their road obstructed at the end of the bridge – this time with several armor-clad guards and a very angry Chancellor. "This escape ends here!"

_Oh, please. Like I haven't heard enough of this tonight._

"Put down your weapons," one guard ordered.

"What weapons?" Fritz smiled innocently.

"Don't give me that – "

"The one you're holding behind your back!"

"This one?" Chrono pulled out the gun and cockily pointed it at the Chancellor. Immediately fifteen more weapons were aimed at his head. "Right. I expected that."

"What are you doing?" the Chancellor fumed. "The boy is supposed to be dead already. Just shoot him!"

BANG! Chrono dropped to the ground – still breathing for now. What was that shot? He couldn't make out any more – all of a sudden numerous shots rang out, men were yelling, Fritz was shaking him again. Chrono couldn't make out what he was trying to say, so Fritz began wildly pointing toward the door at the castle. _That I can understand._ As quickly as they could on their knees, they sped away from the guards. "Don't let them just run away!" the Chancellor's voice pierced the air over the cacophony. Suddenly all the gunshots were aimed at them! – but it was too late. They were through the door and tumbling down the stairs in an orderly fashion.

They guards were right on their heels, bouncing, rolling, then running after the two runaways.

Neither boy could tell how many corners they had blazed around before they ran smack into several more guards. They shared an initial moment of surprise before gently grabbing the escapees by the scruff of the neck. _Where am I? _Chrono did his best to twist his head around and get an idea. _Great. I don't think I've been in this hall before. So, if I somehow get free, how on earth am I going to get out of here?_

The other guards rejoined the boys, huffing and puffing. "Good," one of the more athletically fit panted. "Let's just wait for the Chancellor. He'll take care of this."

"STOP!"

All heads turned – to see the Princess Nadia enter. Chrono was surprised that he was surprised to see her appearance. She was almost a clone of the Queen Leene she had been in the past. Sure, the dress was a little different. For one, there were no frills or jewels. It was a plain but brilliant green, and almost seemed to be made of glitter. But if one thing remained the same, it was that she still had not learned how to walk in it.

"Stop this at once!" she squealed, wobbling across the hall in spiky heels. _Wonder what that would feel like, being kicked in the stomach with those!_ "What are you doing with these boys?"

The guards shared a look. "Princess, these are the prisoners…" No response. "The ones about to be executed."

"What?"

"Executed. As in, dead, Your Highness."

She did not budge. "What?"

"Dead. Gone. No longer living. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh, yes, but what I don't understand is why you're carting off these two innocent boys."

The guards couldn't hide their puzzlement. Chrono tried not to smile. "Princess, I'm sorry, but the Chancellor – "

"This is none of _his_ business!" Everyone's eyebrows shot up. "Get out of here!"

"No! No, Princess, I'm sorry, but I cannot obey your orders this time."

"You will be sorry." With that, she scooped up the boys, one with each hand, and wobbled out of the hall. No one tried to stop her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The rest of the escape was rather uneventful. None of the guards dared question why the Princess had two disheveled boys by the arms, or why she wasn't wearing any shoes - especially after she gave them her friendly icicle stare.

However, outside the gate, they ran into the first snag.

Chrono and Nadia said it at the same time. "Lucca!"

Lucca got up from her cross-legged position and readjusted her pack. "All right. Let's get ready to go."

"Go?" Nadia released the two boys.

"Chrono, what's she doing here?" Both boys shrugged. "Never mind. Fritz, you make your way home. There shouldn't be any guards on the road. Besides, you're dead. Nadia, go on, go back inside!"

The princess shook her head violently. "No! What's going on?"

"I can't explain right now."

"Oh, that's original!"

"Nadia! Just go inside. When you see us again, you'll know."

"No! I can't."

"Quit arguing with me!"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are – "

Chrono finally interrupted. "Shut up! Just, shut up!" _Wow, that's the harshest thing you've ever said._ "Lucca, I think you do owe us all an explanation. Why don't you tell us while we all make the break."

"Chrono, we can't do it this way! Nadia should not have even been here! Where is that other guy? And Fritz! – " the boy jumped. "Wherever you live! Go home!"

"But – " he began to protest, but couldn't think of a real complaint, so he backed up a few steps, toward the underbrush. Before he was out of sight he waved to the group. "Uh – I guess I'll see you all later?" He was gone.

Nadia stepped in front of her comrades. "Now will someone please explain?"

"Too late," Chrono muttered, nudging the girls and pointing to the array of soldiers barring the road ahead.

Lucca played it cool, tugging at Chrono's arm. "Let's go the other way."

"What other way?" Nadia was right on their heels.

"Just run!" They took off.

Lucca took the lead, dashing around invisible bends and through somewhat prickly bushes. Chrono and Nadia followed, spurred on by the sound of heavy footsteps right behind them and the original threats of "Stop!" and "We'll shoot!" _Of course they won't._

BANG!

_Maybe they will._

BANG! BANG! The tree next to Nadia exploded with bark.

"Hurry! Here!" Lucca motioned furiously, and the others blindly followed.

Immediately they came to a halt. "Oops. Dead end," Chrono muttered. The three of them looked every which way – but the only way out of this little foxhole was the way they came in.

"No, look at this – " Lucca nudged her friend's ribs.

"What is it? Don't – " he stopped. "Wow."

By now Nadia had noticed it as well. "It's another… um…"

"Gate. It's a gate." Lucca sighed.

"I hate to break this up, but the soldiers are here and they really look mad."

"Stop!"

_We are stopped._

"Come on, Chrono!" Lucca was motioning about something. Before he knew it, he was being dragged across the little hole. The soldiers were approaching fast.

But not fast enough. Lucca held the key high, then threw herself into the portal. Chrono was right behind. The soldiers stopped and dropped their weapons. "What? That was… er…"

Nadia glanced between the guards and the portal, her only escape. Well, at least she didn't have much left to lose.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry! Sorry! I know I haven't updated in about two months! Or, maybe just one. But this past month has been exceedingly excruciating (a.k.a. bad) and I couldn't find a whole lot of time to write.

Now, onto this chapter. I feel sort of evil for changing the story around so much. I did my best to keep the events true to the game, but there were some things that didn't work. Maybe in a video game, they're fine, but a novel reader would question how Fritz could find his way out of prison by himself but Chrono had to fight to escape; or how Lucca fought her way in the castle when, at the beginning of the game, she would be instantly thrown out when she hit the front door. So, all that said, I had to change things. I know it's kind of hard to understand what REALLY happened in this chapter, but that will all be explained, probably in the next update (COMING SOON TO A WEBSITE NEAR YOU IN 2034).

No, it won't be that long. I hope.

Tell me what you think of this turn of events, because I was rather surprised by it.


	17. VIII: A Bleak New World

**Chapter VIII: A Bleak New World**

With a metallic _thud_ they hit the floor of this new destination. _Strange_, Chrono thought, _this isn't anything like Guardia castle… _The floor was rusty, but not too dirty. _RUSTY?_ Chrono bolted upright, throwing Nadia off his back. "Oaff!"

"What the – "

"Where are we now?" Lucca groaned, picking herself up and brushing the dust… and rust… off her shirt.

"I thought _you _would know that… you brought us here!"

"Chrono, don't start…"

"Sorry. So, where are we?"

"The appropriate question would be 'when are we'." She raised her right arm triumphantly at the structure they were standing in. Apparently they were in a sort of dome – glass, or some other material… transparent, whatever it was. Funny, though, the sky seemed very gray through the bubble, but the three of them thought it was just the illusion of looking through a dirty lens. The pale light illuminated the platform on which they were standing – a flimsy card of old metal, barely connected to the rest of the structure by some wiring and pipes. And, about forty feet below was the main floor – also very unforgiving metal. "This! This is the future!"

"No, I would never have guessed."

Nadia shakily stood. "What happened?"

"Same as last time," Chrono offered. "We were thrown into a portal and got ourselves into a big mess that we will now have to spend a few days getting out of."

"No! This wasn't supposed to happen at all!" Lucca stamped her foot, ignoring the crunch of rusty metal. "We aren't supposed to be here at all!"

"Then why don't we go back?"

"Chrono, are you nuts?" Nadia shrieked. "We'll be killed!"

"Not necessarily," Lucca pointed out. "Remember how we had been in the past for days, yet when we returned it was as if we had hardly left?"

Chrono and Nadia exchanged knowing, yet puzzled, glances. "So you're saying they might all be gone?"

"Maybe. We could risk it."

"What happens if they're still there?" Nadia asked.

Chrono answered. "We're dead."

"Maybe we shouldn't risk it then," Nadia sat again.

"Well, if _you_ hadn't shown up, then everything would have turned out okay!" Lucca fumed.

"What? What do you mean, Lucca?"

"Chrono, we were supposed to have gotten away!"

"Wait! Wait! Everyone please calm down!" Chrono paced in between the two girls. "So, then, Lucca. What _was _supposed to happen?"

She faltered a little and ventured, "er… why don't we sit down?"

"Sure." _Crunch._

"Well, for starters, we're supposed to be in the past."

Nadia wrinkled her brow. "Guardia? You mean where I was mistaken for Queen Leene?"

"Yeah. That one… except _you _wouldn't be there!"

Chrono stood up, his hands extended toward the two girls. "All right. We've established that Nadia was not supposed to be here. Why not?"

"Because we would have gotten away!"

"You said that already."

"Well then, let me finish!" Chrono sat. "I ran away from home – " she faltered a moment. "Anyway, the intent was for me to pick up Chrono at the castle. I take it Benny sprung you like he was supposed to."

"I think so."

"Good. Well, Corny was then supposed to meet you and the other guy, the look-alike…"

"Fritz?"

"Right… some other guy and then you two would be taken out of the castle, seen by no one. The decoy would go home under escort, and you and I would escape to the gate at the fair and go back to the past until things cooled down."

Chrono and Nadia traded stares. "What?"

"The only problem now is how we're all going to get back home."

"I would say that's a problem."

Lucca put her chin in her fist. "Well, we could go back through this portal, but, as we all said, we could come out and be killed. Or…" she pushed up her glasses. "We could look for another portal out of here."

Nadia stood up and brushed the rust off her dress. "I like that one better. But, how would we ever find a portal around here?"

"Oh, that's easy. We just find a tracking device around here and set it to look for this energy… thing. Let's give it a name. How about 'blue matter.' Anyway, we'll set it to look for blue matter. We should receive several results, although most of them will be misfires or generally unstable portions of space and all that. We'll just have to look for a denser area. It's all simple, really."

"Of course," Chrono muttered. "Why didn't I think of it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now that the plan was made, the trio resigned themselves to figuring out how they were going to get from their platform to the ground below. Eventually they realized there was a sort of makeshift walkway along one of the pipes (cooling system, Lucca explained. Chrono thought it was doing a marvelous job.), which led to a very unstable looking ladder along the far wall. Chrono and Lucca easily climbed down, but they had to coax Nadia along, as her dress had a tendency to snag on the rivets in the ladder, and Chrono was obliged to look away for a moment or two.

"First thing's first," she said once her feet were on solid metal. "I'm finding some new clothes."

"What's wrong with the dress?"

"Very funny, Chrono."

Lucca was already on the other side of the room. "How do these doors open?" She pointed to the foreboding panel on the wall. "No knobs, no buttons… maybe it's motion activated."

Chrono and Nadia caught up, their steps crunching across the dome. "Right. Whatever."

"Let's see, here…" she stepped toward it. "Nothing. Boy, that's a really creepy crest." The three of them gave a quick shudder at the golden object protruding from the door – some kind of head. "Never mind then. I guess we'll try the door at that end – the big plate thing." With a scrape, she turned on her heels and crossed to the opposite wall.

Just then, the plate split in two and slid into the wall, revealing a disheveled young man covered in brown robes. His dark brown hair was uncovered and uncombed, and he looked like he hadn't shaved since the invention of trousers, which, by the way, he did not have. His robes were long enough to cover his knees, his ankles, his feet, and some of the dead roaches littering the floor. One hand held some sort of burning stick ("a flare" Lucca tried to explain to the others), and the other a heavy metal pipe.

"Rats," the man muttered. "They always seem to come from here and – " he stopped dead in his tracks. "What the h – "

"Hello… there," Lucca ventured, trying to smile.

"This'll be good…" he swung his pipe back and forth. "How did you get here… and what clothes you have… lady," he gestured toward Nadia with what she hoped was a welcome. Suddenly his expression changed. "Come on," he smiled. Nobody moved. "Get over here! Everyones will be real surprised! What you waiting for?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Much to everyone's relief, the strange man turned out not to be deranged, homicidal, or even unfriendly, once he had introduced himself. "Pat, they say. They also say it's short for 'Patty,' but I won't believe until I see writing!" He pulled them down one hallway. "We're just going upstairs. Not far. Just, we keep gettin' rats in that place. Big 'ol rats - size of your head. Don't know how, but they're in there a lot. Well, once, we found a guy – Lane's spring, sweet but stupid. Sorry to scare you or anything."

Finally he came to a stop at another door. After pressing a few buttons (Lucca watched intently), the door slid open rather noisily and the four of them stepped into a very dark, small room.

"Sorry." Pat chuckled a bit. "The light's been out in this elevator for a couple days."

"Elevator?" Lucca perked up.

"What's that he said?" Chrono and Nadia inquired before they staggered back as the machine whipped to life. "Whoa!"

"Just one floor, won't be long."

At the next stop, Pat held the door open for them. "Come on. They're almost around the corner."

"Does the power go out often?" Lucca began.

"More or less. Doesn't take too long to fix it. We just have to get someone to go down to the computers to fix things… sometimes."

"Computers?"

"Yes… computers. Say, aren't you cold? You're wearing barely anything."

"Well, to tell the truth," Nadia grinned, "we are a little chilled."

"Yeah," Lucca continued. "what's keeping this place so cold?"

"Oh, sorry. The cooling system messed up. It's always cold here. Don't worry. With a couple layers, you'll do fine. Here, through this door." Pat punched a few more digits under the curious eyes of Lucca. – _screech!_

About a hundred more Pats met the group's eyes. Numerous people gathered in the center of a large, low room, covered in mounds of cloaks. But it wasn't the clothes that identified them; it was the look on their faces, the look of despair – the look of someone on the elevator to hell, watching the world go to heaven above him. Chrono's heart fell just looking at them, though he wanted to believe their attitudes were part of the constant lack of heat and light.

"Welcome to our family." Pat gestured broadly.

Nadia bit her lip. "Big family."

"Well, when you live so close together, you become family." Pat pushed the three of them toward the huddle, where they were met by mixed reactions. Most of the "family" stared vacantly as if looking through the newcomers. "Hey, everybody! Guess what I found wandering around!"

One of the residents, an old woman, stood bravely and held up a hand. After a few seconds, one more stood, and before long everyone was standing, sure that these strangely dressed people wouldn't hurt a flea. "Er…" Lucca ventured to speak. "Hello… people. I – " she turned to Chrono "I don't know what to say."

"That's new."

"Oh, stop!" she hissed.

Pat broke the uneasy silence. "Let's sit down."

"Yes, let's."

Soon the three of them sat cross-legged while a hundred eager faces surrounded them.

"Who are you, anyway?" a young voice piped up.

Lucca beat the others to the punch. "We're… travelers. My name is Lucca. This is Chrono, and this is Nadia."

"Travelers? Where from?" another voice chimed in.

"Um… far away?" That puzzled them for a moment. Long enough for Lucca to pass the floor to someone else. "While we're here, why don't you tell us… well, where we are _now._"

"You don't know?"

"Well, no."

Someone raised a hand. A middle-aged man with slightly graying hair. "Please. If they don't know, they don't know." Then, to the three: "This is Trann. It was a city once. So we were told – hundreds of years ago."

"Trann?" Lucca scratched her chin.

"Yes," the man continued. "I'm sorry the place is in bad condition, but we only have a little power a day…"

"Oh, that's all right. We understand…"

"You can stay as long as you like."

"Oh thanks." Lucca tried to smile. "So, uh… this may sound stupid… but, um… what's today?"

The man squinted a little. "Today? It's hard to tell now…"

Lucca left it at that.

"Do you need to rest?"

"What?"

"A time to rest? Surely if you are travelers, you're tired. At least your friend is…" he pointed to Nadia, who jerked herself upright and rubbed her eyes. "Our Entertron is just in that little room over there."

"Entertron?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Entertron was a hefty looking device, spewing hundreds of wires that even Lucca couldn't make sense of. Its shape reminded them of a plastic egg being eaten by a metallic barnacle, and it would occasionally let loose a silent scream with a flash of blue light. They were all slightly unnerved just looking at it, so when someone told them they were supposed to actually get inside and jab themselves with little needles… well, they experienced some reasonable anxiety.

Of course Lucca was the first to try the new device, and for once she was not thrilled to be the brave, scientific one. Less than ten seconds later, though, she returned, rested as ever. Chrono and Nadia hesitantly followed, and once everyone was finished, they couldn't imagine how anyone could be frightened by an Entertron ever again.

"Feeling better?" the older man asked.

"Well – yes…"

"Good, good."

Lucca stepped forward. "Don't any of you guys, you know, sleep?"

The older man thought for a moment before responding. "Sleep? Yes, sometimes, but we never get as much rest as a trip to the Entertron. Now, if only someone had invented a device to take away our hunger, too." He chuckled to himself.

Nadia and Chrono traded glances. "No food?"

The man nodded. "Hardly. We have enough to survive…" He hung his head for a moment, then pursed his lips together, refusing to say more. Still, they all heard enough. They shared a moment of silence, either out of respect, or because they really could not think of anything worthwhile to say.

Finally, Lucca worked up the courage to ask, "So, what exactly happened here?"

"Hm?"

"I mean, why… what happened to this building? Why do you live here if it doesn't function properly, and if you are starving?"

The older man stared right through Lucca, unblinking. Slowly, he cracked a smile – the type of smile an adult would give a small child before saying "I'll tell you when you're older." But instead, the man said nothing and simply walked around the corner to join his family.

"Some future," Chrono muttered to Lucca.


	18. VIII: A Bleak New World 2

**A Bleak New World**

The locker was dark when Pat came in. "Hello… Nell? It's me. Pat. Are you in here? Hello?"

A thin voice came from the other side. "Yeah. I'm right over here."

Pat cracked a smile. "Well, what's going on here in the dark? I can't hardly see anything."

"Aw, the lights have been out a few hours."

"You've been sitting here in the dark for hours and you didn't tell anyone anything was wrong?"

"I'm fine, Pat."

"Come out in the light where I can see you."

There was a shuffling of blankets, then a woman stepped out into the hall. Underneath her layers of robes, she must have been very thin. "Wow. It's bright – sorry about that… I guess I was a little loopy. It could be the medicine."

"Right."

"What is it?" Nell grunted, squinting her eyes.

"Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to show you something I found. You'll love it." Pat was breathing quickly now. "You've always talked… at least, once you lost… well." Nell nodded weakly. "Once you felt better. Or when we fix the heat – you know, there's a girl here now who says she can do that… kind of thing. You should meet her sometime." He winced.

"Just let it go, Pat. I'm cold."

"Sorry. Um, you'll have to come with me. It's just around the corner, here, take my hand." She faltered for the first few steps.

"Where is everyone?"

"Don't know. Come on – wait until…" Pat grinned. "Sorry." He half-led, half-dragged, Nell across the metal. "Here we are," he sighed at last.

Nell almost crumpled right into Pat's arms. "Pat – it's beautiful! Where did you find it?"

Pat chuckled innocently. "Reed and I were down in some storage room. We were both surprised it hadn't been eaten by age or anything."

"You know I can't wear this."

"Aw, don't talk like that. Maybe not now… but you can look at it every day. I'll hang it up by your bed?"

"Pat, I wish I could kiss you!"

"So do I."

"It's… it's beautiful, Pat. Thank you."

He grinned again. "Your favorite color and everything."

"Lucky," she laughed, giving him a little hug.

"Come on, I'll take you back." Pat gathered the dress in one arm and the girl in the other. "Next time I see you, you'll be dazzling!" he exclaimed proudly.

"You say that like I'm not now."

"I meant more," he said, setting the dress aside.

"Good-bye?" Nell put on her best girlish grin.

"Sure, for now," Pat smiled mischievously. He bent down and playfully scooped her up and into his arms.

"Pat!"

He chuckled and carried her to the bed. "I'll see you again real soon. I promise."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After his first "day" in the future, Chrono got along quite well. The older man, Reed, gave a tour of the habitation to his guests. About halfway through, Chrono realized there weren't any windows around here. _No sunlight? No wonder they all look so pale and dreary. _There weren't any cushions, either, but three or four coats tossed in a pile would likely make for a comfortable seat, he guessed.

One thing he was sure he would never be used to was the demeanor of the "citizens" of Trann. Except for Reed, they all cowered in fear at smiles and warm feelings, as if those were as uncommon as the giant "mutants," of which it was more logical to be afraid. Reed insisted the mutants did not exist.

"Here," he continued, "is the place for the sick." Before anyone else took a step, he held up one hand. "Don't go back there… it's…" Reed bit his upper lip.

"The people are contagious?" Lucca offered.

"That's right," the man smiled sadly. "Only our doctors are allowed back there. We still have medicines around. The only problem is giving the right kind."

"What do you mean?" It was Nadia.

Reed faltered again, so Lucca leaned over. "They die," she whispered.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Their tour ended rather abruptly from there, but Lucca wasted no time before pitching in to help the citizens of Trann. "I may not be used to your machinery, but I am capable of comprehending their physics, if you know what I mean." Nobody did. "What needs work?"

The first thing was the power. Pat led her back to the elevator. "Do you think we can get the lights on in here? They've been going off and on for years now." Before long, Lucca had dismantled the entire elevator and had absorbed enough information to write a few books on the subject. She insisted it was fixable, but she'd need to find the main power source in the dome.

While she was at it, the denizens added, she could try fixing the cooling system. "That's trickier," Lucca admitted, "but as long as I have nothing else to do…" She adjusted her hat and asked, "so where is the main power source around here?" Pat started to explain, but he was immediately cut off. "I mean, do you have a map? Of the whole building? Surely you have to – you have so many other things around here. Someone has to have a map."

Reed came to Pat's defense. "Sorry, Lucca. The only maps are on the walls. They're hanging up every once in a while – they'll tell you where you are and where everything else is."

"You mean this is the future and we stopped using maps?" Lucca muttered to herself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono and Nadia found themselves fading attractions within an hour. Yes, they had excited the strange citizens, but Lucca was far more useful to them. Occasionally Nadia would try to strike up a general conversation, but it often failed after she realized that the only worthwhile contributions she could make were "oh, how sad." Chrono thought he could gather more information about Trann – history, geography, culture, and so forth – but everyone claimed to know nothing, or at least "nothing worth telling."

The highest point of their day was observing Lucca as she examined every gadget in every corner of the dome. They would have appreciated it more had she done anything before going off alone to the main control room, or even if they had been allowed to come. "Nah," Lucca scrunched her nose up. "It's no big deal, really."

A couple of hours later Lucca returned, and once again Chrono and Nadia had to submit to her increasing popularity. They had to admit – she did some good while she was gone. All the lights were back on, and the automatic doors functioning normally. She hung her head when they got to the cooling system. "It's malfunctioned. I don't know of any way to fix it, other than getting a new one." _As if these people just walk to the store_, Chrono thought.

As soon as the people left (far too long for the others), Lucca motioned for her friends to come over. "I found out some other stuff while I was down there. Maps. It was hard to figure out how to use those computer things, but I found out where we are now. Here, I drew a little chart – " she pulled out a sheet folded several times over. "Hold on." Slowly she pulled at each edge, as if afraid to add one unnecessary crease. "It's just of this continent. See, we're here…" she pointed to the dome-like structure. "This is Trann. The closest intact dome is way over there – Arris Dome. It's across this ravine thing."

"I think that's a city of some sort," Chrono ventured.

"Whatever," Lucca dismissed him. "According to the computer, there should be a whole lot of these 'artificial habitats' as they're called. Most of them are in ruins now."

Nadia squinted. "What could have happened?"

"I don't know, and I'm not going to try to guess. But if we've any chance of finding another portal out of here, we should start looking. Reed says there are some sorts of transportation devices in what he calls the 'garage.' He gave me permission to go anywhere I pleased, you know."

"Why don't we leave now?" Chrono asked.

"Why don't we?"

"I'll have to get my stuff first," Nadia said, darting off. Neither Chrono or Lucca really felt she was being selfish or shallow - and even if they had, neither of them really wanted to talk about it.

Nadia was back before Chrono and Lucca had even registered she was gone. "Never mind," the girl shrugged. "I couldn't find the dress, but it doesn't matter that much really."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The three of them said their good-byes, each admitting to themselves they would have rather split without a word. Anything had to be better than living in a meat locker, they all agreed.

It took them awhile before they realized the metallic contraption before them was their mode of transportation. From its condition, Chrono guessed it had possibly been used as a nest for dinosaurs. "_This_ is what we're riding in?" Nadia fumed, kicking one of the front wheels.

Lucca stared her down. "Relax. It's probably the best they could offer."

The label on the back said _Versa-mobile_. Even Lucca frowned. "So, how exactly do we, you know, drive this thing?" She opened the door in the front, and several communities of rats leapt out. Lucca didn't have the energy to flinch. "It looks like some of those public coaches back at home, doesn't it, Chrono?"

"Except for the wheels, yes..."

Nadia patted the back of the machine. "And this… thing, on the rear, there. It's kind of like… like a bug. An ant or something." Chrono rolled his eyes. "Oh, you have a better idea?"

"No. Anyway, I'll have enough trouble climbing in as it is without imagining I'm being devoured by a giant insect."

"Sorry."

Lucca called from the other side of the vehicle. "Hey, are your doors locked or something? Get in!"

"What good is that going to do!" Chrono yelled. "We don't know how this works! We haven't even been able to open the door!"

On cue, he suddenly heard a rumbling behind him, like a million forks being dragged over a metal plate. He held his ears as the great door inched its way off the floor. It levitated in the air and the sun burst into the room. All three of them were in awe – until they heard a big _snap!_ – above them, like one of the forks snapped, and the door came crashing to the floor again. With a slow groan, it tipped into the garage and slammed onto the roof of the _Versa-mobile_, then tipped over until it finally rested against the wall opposite Lucca.

For the first time they all had a good look at the world outside. None of them cared to remember. As far as the eye could see, there was a desert of red dust. The sky was as gray as it had been looking out the bubble of the dome. Every few seconds a gust of wind would blow some of the dust into the garage. It stung their eyes, and Chrono fell into a fit of coughing.

"Let's go exploring," Lucca grimaced.

The three of them piled into the _Versa-mobile_ (The "V-mob," as Nadia called it). "Do you know how to work this thing?" Chrono asked.

"Yeah," Lucca replied, pressing a few buttons on the ceiling. "Reed gave me a 'manual' on how to work just about any model of transportation we come across."

"Like we'll find anything else," Nadia muttered.

As flat as the desert appeared, it felt as if the V-mob was rolling over several dead bodies. (Chrono did not rule out the possibility) "Oops," Lucca would say every once in a while, as if absolutely nothing could be wrong. Occasionally they would pass what appeared to be another building, buried hundreds of feet in the sand until only the top peeked out. Once, they passed something like a human skeleton. From that point on, they stopped looking for landmarks.

"So, uh… do you know where we're going?" Chrono remarked after an hour had gone by.

Lucca's reply was impatient. "Look at that screen on the dashboard – " she pointed in case Chrono couldn't figure it out. "It's an interactive map."

For the rest of the trip, Chrono and Nadia spent the time studying all the new contraptions they could find. Never mind that they couldn't use them at all. There were plenty enough to keep them occupied for a few weeks, or until they got to Arris, whatever came first.

It seemed a rather short time when the vehicle came to a stop (but to Lucca, the driver, it was longer). All three looked out the front at the newest roadblock. "Funny," Lucca remarked, "how the map never shows _this_." For in front of them was the sunken city Chrono had seen earlier. Now they actually saw it with their own eyes, they knew it would be impassable by their vehicle – probably by any vehicle.

_Ruin_ was too simple a word to describe it. _Rubble _was closer to the mark. Destroyed buildings lay in every direction as if they had all suddenly fallen asleep and tipped right over. They were mostly submerged in the red dust like the scattered buildings of the desert. But now so many building-tops were poking out of the dirt that there was hardly room for the three travelers, let alone their vehicle, to fit. At first, Nadia suggested they simply go around the city, and it all seemed so easy they had almost set off before Lucca contested them. She pointed out the map to them and showed them the cliffs and ravines on either side of the ruin. "Either way we'll have to abandon the V-mob and set out on foot, but at least through the city the road will be somewhat flat." They all thought that more logical than trying to scale cliffs and such, so they headed straight into the ruined city, despite their nervousness.

For the first half, they were always ducking around corners and staying as quiet as possible, as if some horrible creature would suddenly pounce out of nowhere and devour them. But, they dismissed the thought, calling it stupid, because nothing could survive out in _this _desert. The terrain got steadily rockier as the three progressed, and as they looked down they noticed the rocks were the same dull blue as the buildings around them. Then they got hungry as they remembered they brought no food with them, and hadn't counted on ditching the vehicle. Of course they really weren't, but after traveling in the dry landscape with no change in weather and very dismal scenery, they began to dream of all sorts of confections just to pass the time. But in the end that just made them all the hungrier, so they tried their best to think of other things. And in doing that they just thought about good food even more until they were almost crazy.

It was after about an hour's walk when they noticed something off in the distance. "Arris!" Nadia cried, smiling for the first time since leaving Guardia. Finally, they had gone far enough to see the dome (though it was a very long way ahead), and from there, it looked far better than Trann. Lucca and Chrono both told Nadia to keep her head, and to expect the worst, and just kept walking.

Then they began to notice the creatures. Chrono saw one figure dart between two piles of rubble. However, because Lucca and Nadia didn't see it, he felt no reason to alert them. But then they all saw another form dash right up to them. It was no different than a giant rat, but well enough to contend with Chrono's knees in a fair fight. No one was surprised that Nadia screamed, except the rat itself. It jumped it the air at the sight of the three giants and tore off and away, never to be seen again. Chrono and Lucca spent some time encouraging Nadia before they started walking again. Now they were seeing the creatures everywhere – up on the buildings, in the metalwork, in piles of rubble, making rat-fights in the dust. They did their best to avoid contact, but it couldn't be helped after a while, and soon they had to walk right through gaggles of the little things every few hundred feet. Every time there was a little hesitation, but the rats would scamper out of the way.

They were almost out of the city when Chrono suddenly cried out. "What's the matter?" Lucca and Nadia were on him in a moment.

"One of the little things just bit me!"

Lucca spoke quickly and determinedly, though Chrono could tell she was a little nervous. "All right, but we can't stop now. We're almost through. You'll just have to keep your weight off it, and hope the people at Arris know what to do with it."

"And hope it's not poisonous," Chrono muttered under his breath as they began walking again. This time they traveled much slower, so slow that Arris dome began to look farther away the more they walked. At first Chrono had such great pain in his leg that he winced every time he took a step, but after a while, he began to realize he could put some, but not all, of his weight on it. By the end of an hour, he was walking almost normally. He thought that was because the bite was harmless; but then he had the thought that it may be because the bite really was poisonous, and his leg had lost all feeling and would need to be amputated. From then, every rat he saw, he avoided, until Nadia looked like the bravest girl of them all in comparison.

No one knew just how long they had spent in the city, but once they left, they could hardly remember being there (except for Chrono, who remembered everything in great detail). For the longest time they just stood and panted as if they had finished a marathon race, until they finally set about walking to the dome.

Arris looked, up close, much like Trann. But then, Lucca argued, that was from the outside, and pretty much everything looked dilapidated from the outside. They tried to get inside by the giant door in front, but gave up quickly when they realized they had no clue how to open it – and it probably required a password. Lucca didn't even waste her time trying to explain how that would work to her friends.

"Well," she groaned, plopping down in the red dust beside Chrono and Nadia. "We'll just have to wait now until someone opens the door."


	19. IX: The Remnants

**Chapter IX: The Remnants**

Perhaps an hour later, Chrono, Nadia, and Lucca found themselves in the very warm Arris Dome. But aside from the heat, the place felt no different than Trann. It was all hard steel and ramshackle machinery and power failures. The sunlight, if indeed they could call it _that_ anymore, beat through the transparent ceiling, warming the metal but not casting a reflection.

Presently their newest guide pulled them over some sort of bridge. (Lucca figured it had been a "technical walkway," her term, judging from the types of machines they passed. Chrono and Nadia cut her off there.) He had yet to introduce himself, but then, so had they, and thus neither really owed the other anything. The most noticeable difference so far between the Trann and Arris dwellers was their size – that is, this Arris man seemed barely half the size of people such as Pat and Reed. But the stale light and the wound in his leg made it hard for him to remember that the people at Trann wore numbers of heavy coats. This man had no much more than rags spread on his body to provide maximum comfort – that is, a covering that could be called a "shirt" if Chrono squinted and perhaps were drunk, and something akin to draperies hung on his waist to give the illusion he wore some sort of pants. On top he had a clump of hair shaped not unlike the carcass of a rat. And on his face was what seemed a permanent scowl, though Chrono and his friends didn't find it malicious or condescending as much as a shield of some kind.

The guide brought them to the main room never having said a word. Instead, he picked up a thin metal tube and banged it on one of the railings. All the people below looked up, though not too quickly, and stared at the colorful visitors. Chrono wasn't surprised that they didn't say anything either. At a tap on his shoulder, he looked to see the guide motioning for them to follow. He brought them all the way around the top of the room to what could have been a staircase in its younger days – now it was more like an agility training course.

It held all their weight well enough, though it creaked and groaned enough to produce something like a symphony. The guide then motioned for them to join the crowd of people, who still had not moved from their original positions. Most of them were dressed as elegantly as the guide, though they had their own ways of covering themselves that at least set them apart from each other. Except for the look in their eyes (reminiscent of that at Trann), none of them had similar appearances, and Chrono felt it would be no difficulty getting to know all these people, though he never suppressed the thought that he wished not to remain long enough to do so.

The three reached the crowd and were immediately offered seats. Wordlessly, of course. So they never felt compelled to strike up conversation – that is, until an elderly man approached them.

His white hair lay plastered in every direction on his head, his beard was ragged, and his face slightly dusty. But his eyes were the only ones which had yet displayed any glimpses of kindness – buried behind a wall of insecurity, pain, and… something else Chrono could not guess or hope to know. He was bent over, not as one sick, dying, or hunchbacked, but such as one carrying a great weight on his shoulders which he cannot see. At least, that was how Chrono preferred to describe it. The man walked with a slight limp, favoring his left foot and leaning on the remains of a walkway railing, which he used as a walking stick. His gait was slow, so it felt like years had passed before the old man sat on the dusty crates beside his guests.

He sat for the longest time until he thought of something worthwhile to say. "Hello," the old man rasped.

After a moment's pause, the others were clear that he intended for them to respond. "Uh… hello yourself."

The old man spoke slowly, as if struggling to pronounce every syllable. With each sentence, there was another awkward silence. "I am called Doan," he began, staring toward the newcomers; not really at them but through them. "This is Arris. We live here. Who? Who are you? Are you from Trann?"

Lucca cleared her throat. "We – we come from, well, a long ways away. Farther than Trann, I'm afraid."

"Keepers?"

"Uh… no, I'm afraid not?"

Doan cracked a smile, showing a colorful array of crooked teeth. "I cannot guess."

"Would… Truce?"

"I have not heard of a place," he mused, furrowing his brow into a question mark. "How did you get here?"

_We walked._

"Well… that's… a story – for another day," Lucca shrugged.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She got right into mingling with the locals, but Chrono's leg was bothering him, so he opted for solitary confinement. Doan showed him and Nadia to the "sleeping quarters," which had all the necessities: a floor, four walls, a ceiling, and the Entertron, which suddenly did not seem so threatening. Both were quickly rested, but admitted to each other how hungry the machine seemed to make them.

"So, where do you store your food?" Chrono asked.

Doan frowned. "The food room is almost empty."

"What?"

"We have little food left."

"I mean, is there any way you can get more?"

"I don't know. We just had someone go down."

Chrono tried not to show frustration. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, sorry," Doan croaked. "I forgot you don't know. One of us went below to find food. He thought there was a storage room or… growing place."

"Like an arboretum?" Nadia interjected.

"Arbor…?"

"Arboretum. It's a place where lots of things grow," she said weakly.

"Maybe, then."

"So, did he find anything?" Chrono rejoined.

"What? No. No. We haven't seen him since…" as if reading the expressions on their faces, he continued. "But he has only been gone since yesterday." Chrono and Nadia traded looks. "No. No. It should be long… there is a story of a guardian below. Something that protects the food."

"That sounds silly," Chrono muttered under his breath.

Nadia shot him a look. "Well, thank you anyway."

Doan bowed his head and turned to go, but not before turning to Chrono. "Your leg. Something is wrong with it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono agreed with the old man. The bite mark had swelled from a red stain to a small purple protrusion. Now that he noticed the wound, he winced a little, just a little, with every step. Of course it didn't hurt _that _much, but he knew he wasn't going to be walking around a lot. (But he wasn't going to be leaning on crutches, either.)

He and Nadia rejoined the crowd in the center, which had formed a somewhat irregular circle around her. The best they could figure, she was trading questions with the citizens. And, no surprise, neither faction could really answer any questions.

"Cheerful place, huh," Lucca muttered as the crowd dispersed. "Chrono, it looks like we're in for trouble. They don't have any food here."

"So we heard," Nadia said. "But Doan said someone went to get more."

"Where? They have markets in Arris?"

"No. He said somebody went below, wherever that is."

"Below, ah. The other people mentioned it, too. But they weren't just bursting to tell me about it. All I know is that people have died trying to pass by some sort of monster."

"Monster?" Nadia drew back. "Doan said it was a guardian."

"I don't care. My guess is, the security system is still active, and people are getting fried trying to bypass it without shutting it down." Chrono and Nadia were too tired to ask what she meant. "Of course, then we have to answer the question of why anybody would design an unstable security system like that anyway…"

"What are you saying?"

"Well, for one, if that guy doesn't find food, we have two options. We either leave and hope we don't starve, or find another way to get to the storage room." Chrono and Nadia looked at each other, then back at Lucca. "I'll go see if _this _place has a map."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono's wound was beginning to bother him more than he could effectively hide. So, while Lucca left for her expedition, Nadia had a makeshift bed laid out. It was hardly more than a few crates lined up, but who were they to whine now? They had obtained a few extra rags to make the bed somewhat softer, but Chrono still felt every crack and bump.

Nadia preferred to stay with him, not only because she considered him a friend, or even that she knew something of medicine and the human body, but because she now had the best excuse not to accompany Lucca into the "below" and valiantly face the Guardian. And while she was here, she might as well do _something_ to help Chrono.

He didn't mind her company. After all, he had two choices: Nadia, or one of the creepy strangers. And he was sure the citizens of Arris were as lacking in the medicine department as they were in the clothing supply. Doan stopped by for a few minutes, but had the wisdom to know he knew nothing about Chrono's wound. The old man then caught himself, turned to Nadia, and began to whisper. _Not _that_ wise, perhaps. Now I _know_ the wound is bad._ Still, he couldn't resist asking, "Nadia, what's he saying?"

Nadia waved him off until Doan disappeared. "Nothing really."

_I'm not that stupid. _"It's bad, isn't it."

"All I can say is that it's infected. I mean, we haven't washed… well, that doesn't matter too much, but I'd say those rats had some kind of disease."

_Figures. _"How do you know this?"

"Oh," was all she said.

_Come on, I want to know. _"If you don't want to talk, that's fine."

"No. I just didn't know."

_Okay. _"Know what?"

"I guess that you cared about that."

_What do you mean? Of course I care, my leg is at stake._ "I don't understand. You learned something of medicine? I was under the impression that…" _Stop digging!_

Nadia scrunched her brow at him. "What impression?"

_I thought people like you wouldn't know that kind of thing. _"Never mind." _Or anything, for that matter._

"Here, just lie down and don't move for awhile. I'll come back with some water." As an afterthought, she added, "if they have _that _anywhere." Chrono could tell he wasn't supposed to have heard that.

As soon as she was gone, Chrono noticed his leg going numb. He wasn't too worried – it felt no different than those mornings he awoke after sleeping funny. He tried shifting around on the crates to relieve it, but nothing changed. The leg was buzzing, and it was beginning to bother him. He tried sitting up, but he remembered what Nadia had said. _Of course it probably doesn't matter_, he thought, but lay back down anyway. _At least I can say I did what she asked._ With all his other options eliminated, Chrono began to feel his leg with his hand. He winced, expecting to feel the worst: perhaps a grotesque volcano spewing sticky pus. But after a while of rubbing his finger along his leg (the feeling reminded him of traveling through the time gates for some reason) he felt certain the wound was light, even if infected. After a few more inches, he suddenly bolted upright and gasped. He'd found it. _Funny how the only part I can feel is the wound. Must have pressed a little too hard. _While he was up he might as well inspect it. _Ugh. _It wasn't festering, but it was a very dark red, almost purple, circle on his right calf – about the size of a gold piece, he guessed. The area surrounding it was normal, except a few strange dark lines extending in all directions. Chrono shuddered and lay back down.

Just then Nadia returned, holding a saucer and another rag. "Here, I cleaned these the best I could."

_Great. _"What is it?"

She motioned with the saucer. "Careful, this is filled with water. I did my best to get it clean." She frowned and bit her lower lip. "Well, this is the best I know how to do now, so just lay back. And don't look."

_Is it going to hurt? _"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to wash your wound."

_Well, is it going to hurt? _"What good does that do?"

Nadia paused a moment, then kneeled beside the crates. "It's supposed to clean your inside. Wash away whatever's hurting you. It's the best I can do now… with what I know, at least."

_Please, is it going to – _"Ow!" Chrono flinched, his wounded leg jerked out at an odd angle.

"Sorry." Nadia tried not to smile. "Hold still! I just hope this works."

_What happens if it doesn't?_ "Me too – Oh, ow!"

"Oh, stop. It can't hurt _that _much."

_Easy for you to say. You're not the cripple. _"Well, it does – ah!"

"Stop moving or it will hurt more…"

_And you know this how? _"Well, it feels like you're sticking a little needle under my flesh and pulling stuff out!" Nadia just looked at him, not unlike how his mother did on these occasions. "Sorry."

"That's all right. If it didn't hurt then there wouldn't be anything wrong."

_That doesn't comfort me right now._ "So, what _is _wrong?"

Nadia stood up and brushed herself off. "It's… all right, I'll be honest. I don't know. I've never heard of this kind of thing."

_That also doesn't comfort me._ "What kind of thing?"

"Well, it's swelling like a normal animal bite, but it has some… other things."

_You mean the dark lines? _"Like what?"

"Like… never mind. I'll be right back." She turned and scurried away.

Chrono hardly realized she was gone before she returned with someone else. "Hi, I got you a doctor."

_They have doctors in this place? _"A doctor, huh?"

"Yeah, a doctor." He was tall for a doctor, or so Chrono thought. The man towered over Nadia, but seemed to be twice as thin. His matted hair was white, but he didn't look very old. "Gere," he said, kneeling low, his bony face almost touching Chrono's. "I've studied old papers on medicine I found in Arris. Somewhere in there should be something to help you. Those papers go back to the year 1500, you know."

_Wow, someone who speaks in whole sentences. _"Yeah."

"How long ago was that?" Nadia inquired.

Doctor Gere turned to look up at her. "I am not sure. At least 500 years – the last document anywhere is dated 2001, and we haven't been able to find out what year it is. I think this year is somewhere in the 24th century, but I can't prove it in any way." Returning to Chrono, he continued. "Now, just let me look at the leg." He peered closely and nodded a few times, each time muttering "yes, right…" until he stood again and said "I'll have to find you some medicine."

When he had left, Chrono looked at Nadia. "They have medicine in Arris?"

"Only what's left over from 'the disaster,' so Gere called it." She smirked. "Even he doesn't know how the world got like this. Well, I have to go. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next thing Chrono heard was the sound of a hundred feet clomping and clanging on the walkways above. He strained his neck to see. _Where are they going? What happened? _The answer came in one moment.

Lucca – she paraded herself into the center of the room, not far from Chrono, followed by a multitude of dirty, depressing faces. "Hey, Chrono, I'm back!"

"Back?" He sat up.

"Yes. From the food storage underneath."

Chrono's eyes bugged out. "You mean you found food?"

Here Lucca's triumphant smile faltered. "Well, not exactly…" All the people behind her traded looks and whispers. "All the food there was spoiled, but I found lots of seeds." _And what good are seeds? _"If they find some good soil, they could grow their own food."

"What…" Chrono began, "What about the 'guardian'? Doan said there was some kind of…"

"Guardian?" Lucca laughed. "Well, I guess I have a story to tell you."


	20. IX: The Remnants 2

**The Remnants**

Lucca sat down on the crate next to Chrono. "It turns out they were all right about the monster – it did exist."

"Did exist?" Chrono sat up, wincing. Everyone else took a step closer.

"Yes. The best I can tell, there was some kind of giant machine. It scared me out of my wits at first, but I realized that it couldn't move. The thing must have been inoperative."

"What?" Nadia and Chrono asked simultaneously.

"Inoperative. That means shut down. Not working. Broken."

"Fine, fine. Continue."

"I was only scared at first because of the way the light reflected. It was an illusion – some kind of light was glowing in the 'eye' of the thing, if that indeed was an eye… 'that must be what scared off these people,' I was thinking, when I was almost sawn in half by… well, I'm not sure. I saw this bright beam of light coming at me and ducked out of the way. Just in time, too – the pipes behind me were melted."

"So that must be what's keeping the people out of the food storage," Chrono mused. "What happened next?"

Lucca glared. "Don't interrupt! Anyway, it turns out there was this little machine standing by the door. From what I could gather, it was some kind of security, or weapon, or something, and it had severely malfunctioned… you know, malfunction? Broken, not working, crazy, whatever… never mind. You'll see. But I think it was designed to destroy anything that moved. See, just as I ducked out of the way, another one of those giant rats crawled out of a hole and got fried. But I gave the bugger a good kick and one of its legs fell off. It's still there, if you want to see it. Oh, don't worry, it can't shoot you anymore unless you walk right above it.

"Right behind was the door to the food storage room. But all the food was rotten. I guess the refrigeration failed… refrigeration. You know, it keeps things cold? Never mind. But I found a whole bunch of seeds there. I just hope their present food supply lasts long enough for those to grow. Oh, and I found that guy who was supposed to have gone down yesterday…" she got silent all of a sudden.

One of the women in the crowd burst, "What? Where is he?"

"He's… well, he didn't make it." The woman broke down. "Sorry!" Lucca stammered, trying to continue the story without looking insensitive. "I don't know what happened. All I know is he somehow made it past that little bugger by the door." She said this last part to herself, as Doan escorted the woman away. Then, she turned back to Chrono and Nadia. "And… he managed to find out the password for the 'info center.'"

"The what?"

"The info center? He wrote something about it before he died. Apparently it's a place when we can learn all sorts of information passed down from past geniuses. And – we can find out how we can get back into the present."

Chrono and Nadia waited a beat before asking, "so how do we?"

"I don't know, I haven't been in there yet… it should be totally safe. No reason not to go now." Lucca shrugged. "Oh well. Tell me if you want to go down with me. I have to talk with someone who knows something about gardening." With a crash of metal, she was gone, and the crowd slowly followed.

Nadia squinted at Chrono. "Did I hear that right?"

Chrono just smiled back at her. "I'd be afraid to be down there alone too."

Just then Gere returned, carrying a small bottle. "Hello again. Here, I found you some medicine for the pain. It should relieve you for awhile. But, to be honest, I could not find anything better. I think this wound you have didn't exist back when the documents were written… Well, you'll just have to wait until it – uh, goes away." He awkwardly passed Chrono the bottle. "Just take one every few hours."

"Take what?"

Gere looked confused. "The medicine."

"I mean, what are these?" Chrono shook the bottle – _clack, clack, clack._ "This is medicine?"

"Hah!" the doctor chuckled. "They're called _pills_. Edible. You can eat them."

Chrono gave the doctor a disapproving glance before popping open the lid – or, at least, attempting to pop open the lid. _Mmph!_ He chuckled at himself as though he had forgotten something trivial, and tried again. _Rrgh! _His face contorted into a red mass of wrinkles, and his knuckles gripped the container until they were white, but nothing happened.

"Here," Gere bent down. "Let me see this." He glanced at the bottle. "Hm. It says 'childproof lid.' Oh, I see. It's one of those. It happens to everyone." He handed the bottle back to Chrono. "You have to press down, and then try to _twist_ the lid."

"Oh." Chrono had on his face a look of wonderment, as well as embarrassment at being outsmarted by a piece of – what was it – plastic, they called it. He rolled his eyes and opened the bottle effortlessly. _Figures it was the one thing I hadn't tried._ He pulled out one of the "pills" and placed it in his open palm. _Strange, this little white thing is supposed to heal me. If Lucca could see this… well, what are you waiting for?_ "What was I supposed to do with this?"

"Eat it."

Chrono was thinking about asking what Gere mean exactly, but the instructions were so direct, and he _was _sitting in front of a girl. So, with a last glance at the two, he leaned his head back and tossed in the white pill, and promptly began to chew. He looked fine for a second, but then his eyes bugged, and he stuck out his tongue, revealing freshly crushed yellowish powder. "Ugh!" he cried, wiping his tongue with his free hand and coughing, his face red as his hair. He buried his head in his hands when he saw Gere and Nadia laughing.

The doctor spoke between chuckles. "No, you're supposed to swallow without chewing. I forgot to mention that."

He got a dark look from Chrono.

"Well, _I _thought it was funny," Nadia giggled.

"If you think I'm going to eat another one of those…"

"Oh, come on, Chrono. If it'll make you feel better, why not?" Nadia was trying not to smile too broadly.

Several minutes seemed to go by before Chrono threw up his free hand. "All right. Never mind." He pulled out another pill and tossed his head back, but hesitated a split second before swallowing. One second later the pill was gone (the grimace remained). He licked his lips (_why am I doing this?_) before asking, "so, what happens now?"

Gere folded his arms. "You have to wait until it starts to work. I think you'll feel a slight numbing sensation in your leg… that's what others have said. Be sure to take them at least three times every day. Well, I think you're ready now." The doctor put his hands to his side and smiled. "I hope to see you soon."

Nadia waited until he was gone before responding. "I hope _not_."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Careful climbing down the ladder, Chrono."

Lucca stood barely visible in the darkness at the bottom of the hole, hands on hips. "I almost slipped last time. One of the rungs must be broken."

Chrono hesitated. "You know, perhaps I shouldn't go down with you two."

"What, you're going to let a little pain stop you?"

"It doesn't hurt!" Chrono shot back. That was true – the pills seemed to be working, and he only felt slight pressure on the wound with every step. Still, to be safe, he carried a "walking stick," a piece of metal piping currently lodged in his rags while he hung on the ladder. "Just give me some time – ooh!" So, maybe it hurt a _little_.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Nadia asked, squatting by the opening. "It might be safer to stay up here."

"Oh, right – " Lucca said. "He's going to enjoy sitting up there doing nothing the whole time. What would you rather do, Chrono: stay up there where it's 'safe' and boring, or come exploring with us?"

"I'd rather go home."

"Well, if you come down here, we can find out just how to do that." Lucca pulled off her glasses and gave them a good wipe. "I'd like to do that _today_, if it's possible."

"Are you in a hurry or something? Here, take this stick thing, it's getting in the way." Chrono pulled out the metal rod and tossed it to the floor.

"Hey! You almost brained me!"

"Oops. Sorry. Hard luck." He took another tentative step. "I bet that would hurt or something." Another step – _grooooan_ – he stopped. "Lucca, what did you say about a broken lung?"

"Rung. I think it's the one you're standing on right now."

_Crack_.

"Whoa!" Chrono yelped, flailing wildly before gracefully crashing to the floor.

"Look at it this way," Lucca said, hovering over him, "at least you only fell halfway."

Nadia hurried down the ladder, careful to avoid the broken rung. "Chrono! Are you okay?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" he groaned, motioning for the walking stick.

"No, I'm talking about your leg. You didn't land on it, I hope."

"Nope, just on my back. Not a problem. Ha ha!" He grabbed the stick from Lucca and slowly stood.

Lucca waited courteously until he was in walking condition, then sped off. "This way!"

She got impatient very fast, considering she had to constantly stop and wait for Chrono, who hobbled along somewhat faster than a crippled old man. Nadia was helping as much as she knew how, which involved hovering on all sides and making sure that if Chrono fell, he would fall in her direction, thus allowing her to cushion his fall. Of course, all this "assistance" made Chrono try all the harder to prove he was in good condition. At least he had plenty of time to see all the dilapidated machinery around… including the "bugger" Lucca had described, still lying dead by the storage room door. He got a long look at that one.

"Chrono, would it be faster if I carried you?" Lucca brought him back to reality, and he pressed on as fast as his numbing leg allowed.

"Sorry," he mumbled, taking another tentative step. He couldn't tell when his leg hit the floor, or even where the floor was.

"It's just through this door – here, I'll input the code while I wait. But I'd assume the door only stays open for so long."

Still – Chrono managed to limp to the door before Lucca had succeeded in deciphering the code. Then he did his best to sit and wait, without interrupting his friend at all, until the door was opened.

Somehow he had expected a greater thundering groan to accompany the opening. This one barely shook the floor. Behind the door lay – blackness. Nothing that any of them could see.

No one moved until Lucca spoke up. "Why aren't we going in?"

_Oh, no reason._

Finally she took a hesitant step in. Then another. Finally her whole body was enveloped in the darkness. "Hello, are you guys coming in? Come on, it's not that dark. There's a big hallway up ahead. I can see everything once – "

Suddenly the room filled with light, revealing Lucca standing, her hands covering her eyes, in front of another open door. Chrono and Nadia caught up with her, giving her the "I told you so" stare.

Lucca blinked a few times. "Oops. I guess the lighting is activated by motion, like most everything else around here…" She grinned as if nothing had happened, then backed through the opening.

"Greetings."

All three jumped at the voice. Lucca herself stared to her right and prepared to kick.

"I am – am – am Proto 2-73A. Welcome to the Arris Information Archives." Chrono and Nadia joined Lucca at staring at their new visitor. It reminded them of a knight's armor – from the breastplate up, the armor was in stunning similarity to Guardian style. But in place of the visor was a small circle embedded with a pink node that hung out a few inches – some kind of bizarre eye. The shoulder pad also came with small circle holes that appeared to have nothing in them. Below the golden "breastplate," the machine obtained comical proportions. It was as if Chrono was staring at a hilariously short knight – the breastplate morphed suddenly into two stocky bulbs that looked like legs. On the very bottom were flat black pads that served no purpose as far as any of the humans could tell.

They were a little startled when the eye-node whirred to life, emanating a soft pink glow and wiggling from left to right – as if examining the visitors. "Follow me," it beeped, whirring in a half-circle and rolling off down another brightly lit hallway (how it did that, they had not yet guessed).

Lucca followed first, then motioned for the others to join her. Fortunately, the "Proto" whirred at a drugged pace, allowing Chrono to keep up with everyone. But the machine seemed not to even notice them. "This way – here is the director's office." It rolled through an opening which might have been a door at some other time. "The director is in charge of all relations with other information centers, as well as everyone in the building. He is also an advisor to the Prime Minister himself. - - - Please do not disturb. The director is in a very important meeting. If you wish to speak to the director, please file a request in Customer Service." With that it rolled out of the opening and continued along the halls.

"What's going on?" Nadia whispered to the other two.

Lucca shrugged. "I think it's malfunctioning. That didn't look like a director's office."

"Well, it could have been anything," Chrono added.

"Right." Lucca shielded her eyes again. "Wait, which way did it just go? I can't see with all this light!" As if an answer, a long tube of glass fell from the ceiling right in front of them. It shattered into a ring of crusty white powder, but the room stayed as bright as before.

When they turned the corner, they saw Proto, waiting for them like a faithful dog. Then it whirled around and continued a few steps ahead of them. "Ahead is the administrator's office. Our administrator is responsible for everything you see here. All maintenance work and construction is his job, as well as upkeep on all mechanical devices. Even I am a part of his work." Proto stopped again, outside an intact door. It waited a few seconds, then continued. "Please do not disturb. The administrator is in a very important meeting. If you wish to speak to the administrator, please file a request in Customer Service." It started again.

Nadia nudged Lucca. "Hey, what was it you said we came down here for?"

"We need to find a source of blue matter so we can get out of here."

"Do you think we could ask the machine where we can find it?"

Lucca bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't think it can even hear us. Watch." She cupped her hands over her mouth. "Hey, Proto! Which way to Trann Dome? Why is the sky blue? When was the Battle of Zenan Bridge?" The machine gave no sign it had recognized Lucca's call. "See?" She turned back to Nadia. "It's malfunctioning."

Meanwhile, Proto continued along the white halls. "Ahead is our main archive. There are thousands of computers, all storing mankind's greatest achievements. All recorded history, its knowledge, and its productions, are here in this lab. They are all connected to one super-computer which can pull any information from any other computer, thereby allowing our staff to reach any information he needs within a moment's notice. - - - Please do not disturb. The information staff is not present at this time. If you wish to tour the main archive, please file a request in Customer Service."

Proto headed off once more, and Chrono instinctively began to follow it. "Hold it!" Lucca grabbed Chrono's rags. "This is the room we want." She pointed at the dark opening.

The main archive room was only dark for a few moments, until the automatic lights came on. For some reason Chrono feared the light. Everything was so silent that his mind began to invent mechanical monsters that lurked around every corner, just out of sight. And the more oppressive the silence became, the easier it was for him to imagine. In the pure whiteness he knew there was no place to hide. He kept looking over his shoulder at the door, waiting for something to burst into the room.

"Chrono, will you quit it? That's very distracting." Lucca was bent over a large panel covered in buttons and switches. Most of them were probably ornamental, he guessed.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Just a moment, I have to figure out how to work this thing." She rolled up her sleeves and methodically hit the first button that came within her reach. "Nope. That's not it. – That one either."

Soon the "moment" became a minute, which became five, then ten, and so on. Not only did Lucca have trouble figuring out which button turned the machine on, but she couldn't make sense of the "formatting," so she called it.

Chrono and Nadia waited extremely patiently, occasionally glancing at the entrance to see if their imaginary monster had arrived. No such luck. Once Lucca had the machine running, there was so much noise that they'd never hear any monsters until it was too late.

"All right. Finally. I've got a lock on 'blue matter.' At least, I think so. We'll find out." Chrono and Nadia crowded around her to see the monitor. "No, silly. Look up there!" She pointed to the wall, where a giant monitor hung at a peculiar angle. Apparently one of the supports had snapped.

"This is a map of the world," Lucca said. "At least, it's a geographical map, so those outlines are the lines between land and sea. Now, when I press this button…" Suddenly the map grew brightly colored. "We see just where the blue matter is. I think the computer is measuring places with space/time disturbances – so those blue areas are clean… never mind, just ignore them. It's the red stuff we're looking for. See those two points? That one on the left is where we came from. Trann. That red spot on the right is the one with the blue matter. Hold on one moment." She flipped a few more switches. "No, not that one… ah, here. I'm getting a closer look at those coordinates. Ah. Proto Dome. That's pretty close to the blue matter."

She turned to see if Chrono and Nadia had absorbed any of the information. They just gave her blank stares. "Okay," she grimaced. "In other words, we have to go to Proto Dome."

Chrono rolled his eyes. "It would be too easy if we could go home _now_."

"Well, we're done here, so – "

Nadia held up a hand. "Wait. I want to do something while we're here."

"Please, Nadia."

"No. I want to know what's happened. I want to know why the future is like this – Chrono, Lucca. We can't just leave. Maybe if we know how bad it gets, we might be able to stop it."

Her friends just looked at her.

"Lucca, please? I'm going to spend the rest of my life having nightmares about this place. At least I should know what happened, right? Aren't you curious, too?"

Lucca shook her head.

"Chrono?"

He didn't move.

"If you don't, then… I will."

"Don't be a fool, Nadia. You don't know how to use that."

"Then," she smiled blandly, "why don't you show me."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Here it is," Lucca announced after a half hour of searching. "All recorded history. What do you want to see?"

Nadia shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "You could try looking at the latest date and see what it says."

Lucca pressed a few more buttons. "The latest date is in 1999. It's simply called 'The Day of Lavos.'"

"Day of Lavos, huh?" Nadia folded her arms across her chest. "What else does it say?"

"There's a subtitle – 'The last days of Earth.' Someone went to all the trouble of writing that? Oh, and there's… hold on, it says 'video.' Wonder what that does?"

After a short beep, the screen on the wall came to life – both in sight and in sound. They all jumped a few inches back.

The "video" was simply a moving picture. First it looked one way, than the other way. It must have been made from the top of a building, overlooking a lush and green midafternoon landscape. "Things have certainly changed," Lucca mused. Then the video focused on a girl. She was dressed in odd clothing. It looked constricting and unpleasant to Chrono, but he was interested in the scene behind her and so ignored the girl – she was saying something but the words were all muddled. Behind, on the ground, were little black dots that seemed to be racing across the landscape. Lights flashed everywhere.

Then there came a rumbling so realistic Chrono grabbed a nearby desk for support. The girl on the screen tripped and said something. The video recorder seemed to shake wildly, pointing at the roof, the girl, the ground, and the sky. It was the sky that interested Chrono – the clouds had suddenly congregated over one point of land, and grew darker as they got closer to the center. The girl gasped. All of a sudden, the clouds withdrew, and the ground beneath them cracked and split the entire landscape into several pieces. Rocks, dirt, and water heaved out of the hole as if trying to escape, but they fell back in. Then fire came out of the hole. The girl screamed something and ran off.

It didn't help Chrono's nerves that the video recorder stayed on the roof to watch. Nor did it help that he zoomed in on the hole in the ground. Or that something began to crawl out of the hole. At first, it looked like a grotesquely misshapen porcupine – a ball of spines. Then it revealed its "head," three beaks like a bird, which opened and produced the most chilling scream Chrono had ever heard. The video recorder zoomed out, and he could now see just how large the creature was – easily half the height of one of the faraway buildings. Now there were bright red bolts of light coming out of the back of the creature. Thousands of them – so high even the video could not see them. It looked to the sky, when suddenly those red bolts of light fell all over the earth! Where they hit, they exploded in a ball of fire – and released red flaming bodies which hit everything in sight, as if having minds of their own. Explosion after explosion sent metal and smoke into the air, as well as freshly barbequed bodies, flailing hundreds of feet to the molten earth below. The video suddenly looked at the floor, then back at the sky – red with flame. The recorder dropped the device, and it went bouncing down a flight of stairs until it rested at the feet of the girl. She screamed some more and ran up the stairs, only to be hit by a flaming body. Chrono, Nadia, and Lucca turned away – they weren't interested in watching a girl burn to death.

And like that the video stopped.


	21. IX: The Remnants 3

**The Remnants**

They were all unaware of stumbling out of the room. No one talked about what they had seen or what it meant. Not only because of horror – they never had seen such brutal reality, even in this miserable future – but because of a sort of despair. Their feet led them on, unthinking, only doing.

"Please follow me." The humming voice of Proto shook them back into reality for a moment. The machine had waited just around the corner, as if the video was merely a part of the guided tour. "This way," it beeped before rolling off around another corner, Chrono, Lucca, and Nadia right behind.

With each step they took, the light seemed to grow brighter, until they were walking not in a hallway, but against a landscape of white. Suddenly there were no walls, just endless light, and nothing around for miles. Proto kept on ahead of them, often disappearing into the whiteness. "Follow me," it kept saying.

Then it stopped. Out of the whiteness came another sound – a strained whirring, then a sizzling. Proto stood still, then toppled over, its eye smoldered, running down the front of its body. And across from it stood another machine. This one stood very short on three legs, though it was obviously supposed to stand on four. In the center of those legs was the head, shaped like a tin can, and supporting one red hole for an eye. This machine stumbled closer to Proto, adjusting to deal with its missing leg. Then, it stopped and swiveled to look at the humans. It was not hard for them to remain still. No one felt like moving, or felt like feeling. But they still felt some relief when the thing swiveled around again and tried to walk away.

There was a moment of pure silence – the humans watching the victory of one machine against another. But it proved too much for Lucca. With an impassioned screech, she jumped at the thing and kicked it with all her might. The machine rolled over onto its side and flailed its legs, trying to right itself. It didn't get a chance. Lucca gave it another kick. Then another. If that wasn't enough, she picked the thing up by one leg and smashed in down again onto the floor – not once, but twice. Then she threw it as far as she could, until it smashed against the white backdrop and crashed to the floor for the last time. It was the machine's last beating.

Lucca dropped to her knees, breathing long, hard, loud breaths, wheezing and choking. Nadia came over and knelt with her. Chrono just stayed and watched.

Finally, Lucca stopped and said, slowly and controlled – "Let's get out of here."

No one disagreed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

An hour later, Chrono sat on his hospital "bed," no less numb than before. The pills seemed to be working too well.

_I thought I wanted to go back home, but now it looks like we'll never get there. But what's the point anymore?_

"Hello? Chrono?" Nadia poked her head in. "Is your leg feeling better?"

_No. _"Come on in," he groaned.

"Okay." Nadia sat down on the crates opposite Chrono's bed. "Guess what?"

_I don't have time for this. _"What."

"Lucca says we have a chance to get back home."

_A chance?_ "What do you mean?"

"She says we can get to Proto Dome by tomorrow and be home not long after."

_It's about time. _"Then why haven't we left?"

"Oh," Nadia folded her hands in her lap. "She's trying to figure out _how_ we can get there. It's too far to walk, especially…"

_Yeah, yeah, I'll slow you down. _"I know."

"Listen... um, I know…" she bit her lip. "I know this may sound a bit funny now, but…"

_But what? I don't have time for this. _"Yeah, I know."

"No, really, when we get home, it'll be better."

_Sure. "It" will be better. We'll go back to ordinary life, I suppose?_ "…"

"I mean, well, I don't know. But if we can just get back and sort things out, you know?"

_Sort what out? We go home, we continue living life as if we forget what happens? In 1000 years our world is dead. How can we just "sort things out?"_ "Yeah, I know."

"What I'm trying to say is – "

Nadia never said it, though, for suddenly the walls shook with footsteps. Lucca. "Hey, Chrono!" She stomped into the room and produced a key from her rag pocket. "Let's go – we're out of here! … forever," she added darkly.

"What is that?" Nadia asked, pointing to the key.

"Oh, this! This is our ticket out. Doan says it operates the 'bike.' We're going to ride out of here." Lucca looked back and forth between Nadia and Chrono. "Well, what are we waiting for? You want to stay here any longer? Well I don't, so if you want to come home with me, I'll be outside. Don't expect me to wait long…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lucca ended up waiting close to an hour. First Chrono had to take another pill, and he went through his whole choking routine once again. Then Nadia felt obligated to say goodbye to Doan. And, of course, Chrono limped around so slowly that Lucca thought she could have walked to Proto Dome by the time he came out.

And then they all had to work the "bike" Doan left them.

"He said he used to ride it around when he was younger," Lucca began. "Can't imagine why." She grimaced and folded her arms across her chest. "Now we're supposed to all fit on this?"

The bike was very large, but no one could tell just where they were supposed to sit. It was similar in construction to the _V-mob_ from Trann, almost shaped like another insect – handlebar antennae, rusted bulbous thorax, tiny head smashed in, two wings. The only thing it was missing was legs.

"Hmm," Lucca put a finger to her mouth. "I guess two of use could fit in these – side things here. I guess those make good seats. I'll pilot the thing. How's that sound?" She looked to Chrono and Nadia, who both shrugged.

"Well… then let's hop in."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The bike whizzed across the desert so fast that Chrono hardly realized they were at Proto Dome already. Lucca hopped off first, shaking the bike a little. Nadia and Chrono winced. Their seats were so cramped that the extra jostle banged their shins against the rusty metal. Chrono especially did not like that.

Nadia was immediately out and heading for the dome, but stopped when she saw Chrono struggling to get out of the bike. Lucca was doing her best to help. "Well – get out Chrono. I don't want to be here any more than you! Now let's go!" She threw up her hands. "Nadia, he's stuck in there. Can you get him out without banging his leg?" Nadia just gave her a look. "Never mind. Hold on." She grabbed Chrono under the arms and hoisted him up and over the side of the bike, where he flipped over, legs making a huge arc, and fell flat on his back. "Sorry about that. Now can we go?"

Chrono nodded, then rolled over.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They knew right away something wasn't right when the front door opened by itself, but they couldn't put their finger on it until the door shut behind them, locking the room in darkness.

"Welcome! Good light!" A old, raspy voice.

As quick as the lights went out, they came back on, revealing a large square room. In the center was a circular table of some sort. The walls around it were covered with scribbled diagrams, tables, and mathematical equations.

"You are early!" The voice said again. They all turned to see an old man underneath a screen on the far wall.

The man stood tall, but was visibly aged. His white hair no longer graced his head, but had slipped until it dangled from his mouth, holding on for dear life. But he hid his head under an old cap which must have been a shade of blue many years ago. The cap was flattened and pieces were frayed, though in the past it may have been very tall. His robes were the same shade of blue and hung very loose and thick on his shoulders. Also on his shoulders was a red shawl, which was ornamented with a thousand holes – where jewels once lay.

"Please, sit. I had your meal specially reserved for you." The man hobbled to the table and sat at a rusty chair with only three legs. "Come, come!" he rasped when his guests did not budge. "I will not wait. You have been called for a purpose, you see."

Slowly, Lucca took a step forward. Then another. Before long, she had taken ten, and the old man finally got a look at her. His gray eyes penetrated through her skull – he seemed not to like her at all. "And your family? Are they not present? Come, come out of the shadows to where I may see you."

Nadia stepped next to the table. "Ah!" the old man cried. "Here you are. You have grown more beautiful than ever before, daughter!" At that, Nadia took a few steps back. "Oh, don't let your face grow red. Sit. And your brother?"

Chrono, taking his cue, hobbled out and took his seat. "My, taciturn as always. Keep your head up when I speak! Your voice will come with time."

Lucca traded looks with Nadia and Chrono. "What now?" her eyes asked.

Nadia leaned over to her. "Are you sure this is how we get home?"

"Sh!"

The old man bent over the table. "I am sorry. I have lost my youth. You must speak well to me. Now eat."

Lucca whistled softly.

"Call me a fool," the old man suddenly turned to Lucca. "Yes, you may think me the fool. But I shall never relent. You will destroy yourself, my Queen, with your own power. Did you imagine you commanded the earth? No, it commands you. And the Day of Lavos will come, and you will want for a hiding place. I will say it no more. I am sorry you must all hear me so ungraceful, but I have no time. It is your last chance." Then he faced Nadia. "I apologize. You were not meant to hear. I am sorry you must live to see this day. I weep for you, Schala, but you must never give up. Fear not to love the truth. And finally – " now the man turned to Chrono. "My last words for you, boy. Never forget who you are. Men will seek to mold you and remake you into their images. Do not let them. Fly! Fly on the wings of time itself."

The old man fell silent for a long time after that. Chrono, Nadia, and Lucca just exchanged frightened glances. "I am sorry," the old man began after a long time. "Please, continue to eat. And for my warnings – you will never hear them again!"

As if to compound the mystery, a hidden door burst open across the room and a strange figure crept out. It was almost like a blue orb – with the hands and feet of a man, but the legs and arms of a monkey. Near the top of its giant head were two large blue eyes that seldom blinked, if ever. Its mouth was hardly more than a slit cut in its face. And, to top it off was a small patch of green hair.

Now the creature approached the table, where it began to speak. Only, it never opened its mouth. The words seemed to come from the walls surrounding them. "Greetings. I apologize for my behavior."

It turned to face all four others individually – first Nadia, then Lucca, then Chrono, and finally the old man. "I am sorry you must see me this way. I am Balthazar. I am pleased to meet you." As if it read their minds, it continued. "Do not be frightened by my crazed pleas. I lost my mind to age many years ago, here at Keepers. Now I am afraid I am trapped with my past acquaintances and my former choices – my mistakes. But please, do not be frightened. Understandably, you are concerned or even afraid of me. I can do you no harm.

"Do you wonder what I am, and how I am Balthazar, yet not Balthazar? It is too late to explain. Now look upon me – see how far I have fallen since the Day of Lavos. See the man who once built miracles, who walked on air and talked with the creatures of the deep. Look at the drawings on my wall – remember how I mastered the elements and brought them to reason. I never served the earth; it served me. I was its master, but now it is only time that separates me from the earth now. How fitting that the master should be the servant, for in our world all things are upside-down – the servants are always the kings, the fools are always the wise, and the weak are always the strong. Look at who I was – I was the kings, I was the wise, I was the strong. Now how kingly am I? I who served no one am now a great servant. How wise am I? I who spoke with creatures of the deep can no longer speak with you. And how strong am I? I who walked on the air can now hardly walk on solid ground. I can only hope I have no time left to lose what pieces I yet have of myself. For it cannot be long before new healing begins – no death can be complete because life is stronger than death. Surely even half-witted children such as yourselves understand. Dead men do nothing but stay dead. Life is for the Living. Only then will you truly understand.

"And now it is fitting that you leave me. I have no more time. You have heard my story. Do not forget it, even long after I have been forsaken by the earth, my servant. I must go alone, as I have lived for many years. Now go – with the hope that the next time I open my eyes the fog and the dust will have lifted, and I may walk in the skies again."

There was silence for several minutes, after which the strange being backed out through the doorway it had come in. Chrono was the first to stand, though his legs shook. Nadia and Lucca soon followed, and they all tiptoed to the front door – casting one last look at the pale old man at the table before leaving Keepers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The remainder of the bike ride was in uneasy silence. Chrono couldn't even hear the roar of the engine or the thud of the bike hitting small bumps on the red desert. He still thought of the old man.

It didn't matter that the man was out of his mind. He acted as if he knew them. _Fly on the wings of time itself? Does he know we're from the past?_

He looked at Nadia on the other side of the bike. She was looking out at the desert, away from him and Lucca. _What about her? Oh, what did the old man call her? I can't remember – maybe he was… guessing?_

Chrono looked to Lucca, who gazed ahead intently. She never moved, save to turn the bike from side to side. _I suppose I should have laughed, now that someone finally gave Lucca a good telling off. But how would he know anything about us?_ _Come on! He's a crazy old man who doesn't remember anything! Why should I be afraid of him? He was just babbling about nothing. Nothing. Why should I care if he gives me his advice? He can't know me._

Off in the distance, something caught his eye. Proto Dome. He knew it – it had to be the place. Slowly he returned to the world around him – the sounds of the wheels roaring over the dust, the sights of the sky turning from gray to black, the feel of the brittle metal against his back and legs. _If this is the future, I don't want it. I just want to go home. To live a normal life – to forget this ever will happen._

_Life will be different from now on. Even if I get home. I'm still a fugitive, too. Wonder what that's going to be like. And then what? Suppose I do survive – suppose I'm never caught again. I'll still die eventually – and _this_ will happen. All of it. _Chrono bowed his head, tired of holding his neck up.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally. Yeah, there's no note after Chapter eight. I just forgot to put one in.

Question for discussion: What to do about the next character? I'm sure you all know who's coming next. And I haven't the slightest idea what to do with him, because he's such a mystery. I'd appreciate some ideas from you, though I may not take you seriously... heh heh. But I want reviews. Mostly because I still have no clue how this whole story is working out for you. I don't need huge critiques of course.

Also, what is the future doing for you? I realize it's a bit depressing. That's why the updates are so slow (well, maybe not, but it's a good excuse). Is it too far from the real game? Of course I can't be perfectly in sync with the game, but I try to keep basic story elements the same. On that note, I will also give you a warning: later game events have great opportunities for development, and be sure that I will use them! But when I do one of these "developments," I want to know if they're appropriate or if I'm just trying to be weird.

Specifically - Balthazar. Now that was a fun part to write. I'm pretty sure most of you have played the game through and so know pretty much everything about him. Did I portray him well, or was I totally off? Do you know what he's talking about, or am I TOO cryptic? Did you figure out who he was talking to? Are you wondering about the significance of the mysterious creature's"speech?" Let me know, so I don't forget what to deliver in the next chapters.

That's all. I know I've banged you over the head with this, but: review! That's the only way I can figure out if I'm doing this right!

Mission 316


	22. X: The Last Survivor

**Chapter X – The Last Survivor**

Proto Dome was a bit smaller than the other three domes – that they could tell just from looking at the outside. It was the remains of what appeared a great battle, looking as if a great beast had torn little pieces off here and there and thrown it all back together again.

Lucca hopped off the bike and was instantly to the door, motioning for Nadia to get Chrono out of the seat.

"No," he said. "I can do it." He took a long time getting out, and fell to his face on the ground, but he _did _do it himself.

The only light in Proto Dome was the light from outside. All other lights were "malfunctioning," though Chrono spotted a few that had been forcibly shattered. The air also hung thick with some kind of fog. With the fog there came a stench, musty and thick, which brought Chrono to coughing a few times. Lucca shushed him.

Somewhere in the building was a gate – Lucca had brought that up earlier and continued to reinforce it, though more for herself than the others. But they didn't have much to explore. "I thought it would be here," Lucca said to herself, her arms folded across her chest. "That machine told us there was a gate here, right? So where haven't we looked?"

"What about behind this door?" Nadia asked, pointing to the wall beside her. She stood under the frame of a huge metal door. In the center was a big wheel. Other than that, there was nothing on it.

"Chrono, could you…" Lucca began, but stopped herself. "Never mind. I'll see if I can open it." She crossed to the door and twisted the wheel to the right with all her might. Nothing moved. "Okay, I guess it goes the other way." She tried again, this time to the left. At first, nothing happened, but then a great _creak!_ – rose from below them. Lucca gritted her teeth and tried again. Now the wheel rotated one inch, accompanied by more creaking. "Oh!" she gasped, "I need to give my arms a rest. What about you, Chrono? Can you try it?"

Chrono didn't say anything but nudged Lucca aside. Even though he was already fatigued, he managed to get the wheel turned another inch or so. Then he switched with Nadia, who couldn't move the wheel at all. They kept switching off until finally they heard a _click_ from behind the door. "Okay," Lucca panted. "That's all. It won't go anymore." She leaned against the door, then frowned. She leaned harder. Then she pushed, then kicked (getting stares from her friends). "Maybe," she said, "I'm going to have to pull it." She ignored Nadia's giggles.

No matter how hard she pulled, the door still wouldn't budge. "Hey, Lucca," Nadia raised a finger. "Did you, um, see this over here? I think it's in the way."

Lucca groaned. "Let me see that." She kicked the door again. "It's locked. These here are bolts."

"Can't we just take them off?"

"No…" Lucca said after a long time looking at them. "They're operated mechanically."

"Pardon?"

"We have to turn the power on to open this door."

"That's not good."

"No. It's not."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lucca took a step back to survey the door again, and almost tripped over something on the floor. "What?" She looked at her feet.

Funny. In the dim light, it almost looked like a lump of metal, debris. In the low lighting, it was no wonder they had all easily missed it. Now, they could see it was a machine of some kind. Humanoid. Lucca bent down and rapped on it. Metallic.

"So… what is it?" Nadia asked.

Lucca shushed her. "Some kind of metal man. Kind of like the machines at Arris. But different."

"Is it alive?"

"Don't be ridiculous. No machines are really alive. Not like people anyway." Lucca rolled her eyes. "It's off, if that's what you mean. I think I can get it running again."

Chrono sat down next to the machine. "What for, exactly?"

Lucca just looked at him.

"Um, aren't we trying to get through that door?"

"Oh, yes," she sighed. "But it's locked, and we can't get in now. Perhaps…" she squinted, an idea coming to her head. "He might know how to open the door. And he might know other things, too. See, I bet he was just knocked out after this place," she motioned to the crumbling ceiling, "after this place was destroyed. So he's got to know whatever he was supposed to know before… you know? Never mind, you don't. Just trust me."

"But…" Nadia sat down with her friends. "What if it's like those things at Arris, and it attacks us?"

"I'll think of something," Lucca said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono grasped his leg. It was starting to hurt again. He scooted away from Lucca and leaned against one of the broken computer consoles. The pills. He pulled up the little bottle and poured another one into his hand. _Wow. These little things really work. Just one little thing takes away the pain for hours… how would it work if I took two instead?_

"You okay, Chrono?" It was Nadia. She was still over by the machine, but she was looking at him – the way his mother would look at him when he was bedridden with fever. For some reason that made him uncomfortable. "You look awful."

_Thanks a lot. _He held up the pill bottle for her to see.

"Ah." Nadia scratched her head. "I'm going to try the door again," she announced to no one in particular.

Chrono leaned his head back and threw the two pills in. It wasn't much harder to swallow than just one.

_Crack! _– all three of them jumped as a spark flew into the air. "Sorry about that," Lucca smirked. She went right back to work. "Say," she said aloud, "Do you feel that? It's like there's someone else in the room with us. Or something? Do you feel that? Hovering over this machine?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Another spark brought their attention to the thing on the floor. _Crack! _– Lucca jumped up and took two steps back. "What is it?" Nadia asked, but Lucca shushed her. _Crack! _– another spark – _crack! _– and another.

Slowly, methodically, the thing rose from the ground. In the dim light, Chrono could barely make out its shape. But it was definitely humanoid, now that he saw it standing up. It was taller and wider than he had expected. Also, it had no facial features – just two greenish-blue lights near the top of the "head." Those must have been eyes… an improvement from the cycloptic machines at Arris. Other than the eyes, there was nothing else on the head that Chrono could see. And on the machine's back, there was a large rod, shaped almost like a rolled up sleeping bag, as if it were just going off on a hike before being shut down. But when Chrono looked closer, he saw pipes running out of the metal rod and connecting to the thing's back. Lucca would probably tell him what they were eventually.

Its eyes flickered on and off a few times – probably a form of blinking. There was a pause. Then it swiveled around – sharply and suddenly, never lifting its feet as if standing on ice – giving Lucca a good scare.

"Greetings," a voice came out of the machine. It was surprisingly pleasant and personable. "I…" it stopped. Not immediately… the voice trailed off into nothingness.

"What, is it broken again?" Nadia asked.

"Sh!"

"What…" it was the machine again. "What happened here?" Its head swiveled around in a semicircle – actually, only the top half of the head, the part that had the eyes. "Is this Proto Dome?"

Lucca gasped. "Wow, he works."

"Who works?" the machine asked.

She scrunched her brow. "And he understands what I say."

"That is natural. And who are you?"

Lucca extended a hand. "I am Lucca. I fixed you, you know."

The machine didn't take it. "Understood. You, Madam Lucca, fixed me."

"Oh, no, just plain Lucca." Her hand was still extended.

The machine didn't take it. "Plain Lucca fixed me," it said, it's eyes blinking comically. "Thank you."

"Forget it," Lucca muttered.

"And who are you two?" it continued.

Neither Chrono nor Nadia really thought to answer, so Lucca did it for them. "Oh, them. That one is Nadia, and the other one is Chrono."

"Greetings, Nadia. Greetings, Chrono."

"Uh, greetings," Nadia returned.

"How did I get here – with you?" the machine went on.

"Oh, his memory banks must be wiped out," Lucca whispered to the others.

"Memory? What do I remember? I remember this place. I remember standing right here next to the computers. And then Madam Lucca fixed me."

"Just call me Lucca!"

The machine looked at Lucca again. "What do you mean?"

"I mean don't call me Madam."

"Impossible. That would be rude."

Lucca gritted her teeth. "Look, I hate formal titles… hey, Nadia, what about you?"

"Oh! Yeah, I hate them too…"

The machine looked taken aback – as much as a machine could. "Oh, I am sorry. Then I will just call you Lucca."

"Yes, that's better. And what should we call _you_?"

"I apologize. In my confusion I forgot to introduce myself. I am R266-Y."

"Oh, please," Lucca chuckled, but caught herself. "I mean, that's really a mouthful. Don't you have a short name or did people really call you R26something-Y?"

"I do not understand."

"Never mind. What you need is a good name."

"But I have a name."

"Know what a nickname is?"

"But my name is not Nick."

"Never mind – come on, Nadia, Chrono, help me out. What should we call our friend?" Nadia just shrugged. Chrono just squirmed a bit on the floor. "Some help you are."

"I do not think the other robots and I had – "

"Wait!" Lucca held up a hand. "Robots?"

"Yes, robots. That is what I am. I am a robot. A robot is a machine designed to emulate – "

"Then we'll call you Robo."

"Lucca, it is impolite to interrupt."

"Nadia, what do you think? Thought so. And Chrono? Chrono! Hey, Chrono!"

Chrono snapped to attention. But he was having trouble concentrating. "Whatever. Whatever you want."

"That settles it, then. You'll be called Robo from now on."

"Lucca, something inside me tells me that is not a good name."

"It's a great name."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In the minutes that followed, Lucca gave Robo a brief overview of their journey from Trann to Proto Dome. She was pleased that Robo seemed to understand a bit about time travel, or at least that he didn't ask a million questions about it. He seemed to have no questions except "what happened here?" And Lucca didn't really know how to answer that. The other question was "what year is this?"

"I don't know. What is the last thing you remember?"

"I cannot remember anything except what this place looked like before now. But it looks like it has been many years since that memory."

Robo looked at Chrono and Nadia again. "What are they doing?"

"Oh!" Lucca knocked herself on the head. "Sorry. Before we fixed you, we were trying to open this door. I nearly forgot…"

"That door?" The robot gave it a look. "It is not surprising you are having problems. The door is locked electronically. It will only open if there is a power source. Unless you have some kind of power source you carry with you, you will have to turn it on manually."

"What? What's that mean?"

"There is a power plant a few miles from here – if it is still standing. You will have to go there and turn on the power and hope the lines are all functioning. But they won't function for long, so you will have to hurry back and open the door before it shuts off."

"Wow. Okay." Lucca leaned against one of the dilapidated computer consoles. "Do you know how to operate the system?"

"I could try. It never hurts to learn something new. Besides, you may need me to get in. Normally, there are guards that allow access, but if they are not there, you will need to use the machinery entrance. Only robots can open it. From there, everything should be easy."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lucca clapped her hands to remove some of the dust. "Come on Nadia, Chrono…"

Nadia rose. "Um… are we all going to be able to go? Chrono might not make it with his leg…"

"I'll be fine!" Chrono stammered. Nobody bought it.

"No, you won't."

"Chrono, you may want to stay behind," Robo interjected. "Your leg may collapse if you try to follow us. Also, you can operate the door. That way, we do not have to worry about hurrying back. That is - if you do not mind being alone for a half-hour."

"Okay," Nadia said. "But shouldn't someone stay back to keep Chrono company?"

_Oh, please, I'm not a complete invalid._

Robo looked at Chrono. "No, unless you are going to be very lonely. We should only be gone a short time. Nothing could possibly hurt you. You can just push on the door when the lights turn on."

"Oh, all right. Are you sure?"

"Yes. Besides, I will need all the help I can get at the plant."

Chrono slumped down beside a trashed monitor. "Well, hurry up, then." And they were off.


	23. X: The Last Survivor 2

**The Last Survivor**

The past hour had felt like only a dream to Chrono. As soon as he woke up, he'd be back with Nadia and Lucca, and they'd still be trying to open the door. There wouldn't be this "robot" walking around and talking. What was that thing? It sure didn't look like a machine.

Chrono tried to stand, but every time he moved, his head swirled and buzzed. He clutched his hair and attempted to balance himself with his free hand, but that was no good; he couldn't see far enough to grab hold of anything. _It's like I'm in a dream. I am dreaming, right? Wow, I can hardly keep my eyes open. Must be because I haven't slept in forever._

_No! Got to stay awake. Open the door._ Chrono pushed himself with every last ounce of strength, but he only managed to his knees before he fell over again. _No, I'm not going to fall asleep._ Of course, the more he told himself to stay awake, the more tired he felt, until his eyes were closed completely.

_Just to rest them…_

He could hardly feel his injured leg now – _is it still there? _– and his head was still buzzing. But that wasn't enough to stop him from slipping into another dream.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When he opened his eyes again, the room was still dark and musty. He couldn't remember anything that had happened before. All he knew was he had woken from another dream… whatever the dream was. He couldn't remember what he had dreamed, but he could guess it was a nightmare because he could feel his heart beating hard and fast.

_The door!_ The thought jarred him awake. How long had he been asleep? The room was dark… maybe he still had some time.

"Oh, good, you're finally awake." Lucca.

Chrono cleared his throat. "What?"

"We thought you were dead. Come on, get up, you lazy jerk."

Maybe it _was_ all a dream. _But where am I then? This definitely isn't home._ "Where…" he clutched his head. "Ooh…"

"All right, if you can't get up, I'll help you." Chrono felt himself clutched by the elbows and yanked to his feet. "Get your legs under you. Hello? Legs. Like that. Okay, can you stand? Set? All right." She let go, and Chrono collapsed again. "You're hopeless." Then the voice was gone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono couldn't tell how long it was until he heard another voice. "Hello? Chrono." Nadia. "Are you getting up anytime soon? Oh, never mind. Come on, it's time to go. As in home. We can go home. Hello? Don't play dead with me. Lucca says you're awake." He couldn't see her, but Chrono could imagine her arms folded across her chest and her face in a pout. "Get up. I don't want to be here any more than you do." There was a clicking sound. "Oh, come on. Your leg's not that bad. Once we get home you can fix it up anyway, so stop acting like such a martyr, all right? Now get up."

_I must be dreaming again – no wonder they all got back so fast._

"Forget it, then. I'll be back with Lucca or something."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Time seemed to escape Chrono. He wasn't even aware that he had closed his eyes again – only that he was now opening them. The room hadn't changed at all. He was still leaning against one of the broken computer consoles.

_I've had the strangest dreams… now what?_ Chrono tried to stand, but his injured leg wouldn't cooperate. It was buzzing, as if the wound were filled with hornets. Fortunately he couldn't feel their sting. The wound was looking worse all the time. Now the red mark had turned a dark purple, and Chrono could see black patterns going up and down his leg, as if he were seeing his own veins.

He rolled over onto his stomach. If his legs wouldn't work, then the only way he could get to the door would be to drag himself with his hands. But every time he pulled himself along only a few inches, he felt like he had just sped about a hundred feet. His hands moved in quick, jerky motions, almost as if someone else were moving them. By the time Chrono reached the door, he felt an hour had passed, yet he couldn't remember how he got there. He craned his neck to look up, though it felt like he had just launched his head into the ceiling. _What?_ The door was open. Perhaps it wasn't a dream. Or had it opened on its own while he slept?

Nadia answered his question. "There you are." She was right around the door, sitting on a comfortable pile of smashed and twisted metal. About ten feet from her was Lucca, bent double over another pile of smashed metal. "She's fixing Robo. Otherwise we could just get out of here. What are you waiting for? The door's open, come on in."

"Sorry," Chrono mumbled, dragging his legs through the door jamb.

He almost jerked when he heard a mechanical voice. "Is that Chrono?"

"Yes," Nadia smiled. "You remember Robo, right?"

Chrono nodded. _I think. _He motioned to the robot.

"Oh, right. We had a problem at the plant."

"Some other machines trashed him," Lucca interjected. "…in case you didn't notice."

"Other than that… well, it wasn't all that exciting. You probably had more fun by yourself, right Chrono?" Nadia shot him a look.

"Calm down, princess. He was out cold. Probably because of his bite… looked pretty bad."

"I know."

"And now we're all back. As soon as we fix you up, we can leave this miserable place."

There was a pause before the mechanical voice came again. "I agree."

"Yeah."

"And I will return to your home."

"Um… are you sure? We don't exactly live here."

"I know. But I have no family left, and I feel alone."

"Oh, come on. You are a machine. You can't have a family, and you shouldn't be feeling _anything_."

"I remember them all now. Are they dead, then?"

"I think almost everyone died."

"Was there an epidemic? I do not recall any of that. I was standing, and suddenly, I was here."

"No…" Lucca seemed to be searching for the right words. "It was a cataclysm. Like that myth… you know, the one planet that struck the earth and destroyed almost all life… some ten thousand years ago or something. Did you ever hear of that?"

"I may have."

"It was like that."

"Oh." Silence. "How did you find out, if you were not here?"

"I saw it."

"That does not make sense, but I believe you."

"I could be lying."

"I do not think you would lie." Silence. "Is it fixed yet?"

Lucca stood. "Hm, it looks okay. But some of your internal… machinery… looks a little messed up. Can you stand?"

"Let me try." There was a clank, then the sound of metal scraping metal. Finally, a whoosh of air, and the robot rose to its feet.

"Good, then. Chrono, Nadia, are you ready to leave?"

Nadia joined her and the robot without hesitation. Chrono worked himself to his feet – a task of about a minute – and hobbled over.

"Wait." The robot. "I would like to accompany you."

"Um… haven't we been over this?" Lucca folded her arms across her chest.

"I realize that. But you cannot just leave me here. You saw what I was supposed to be. They called me a traitor. I cannot stay any longer if there will be a war between man and machine."

"Whoa… don't take it too personally."

"I will not. If they spoke the truth, then I was constructed to destroy man. I could destroy you all here and now. But… I refuse. I am not like that. But I am certainly not a man."

"That's right. And you are certainly not going to come back to our home. You won't fit, trust me."

"I do trust you. But I do not trust your judgment. After all, you are the one who told me I cannot feel. Would you deny I felt pain when they thrashed me? I am an outcast now, if they are right. I am the enemy of one and a traitor to the other. Do you understand? I do not even understand myself. But if you must leave me, then please, shut me down."

"I… excuse me?" Lucca stammered.

"Shut me down. Or destroy me. Why would you fix me if you would only leave me to be destroyed again? Something deep inside me tells me this is not right."

"Oh come on. You weren't created to destroy mankind. Why would people make machines that would kill them? Give – "

"Hey!" Nadia interrupted. "I don't… listen, there's a gate just around the corner, and we're standing here arguing with a lump of metal."

The robot took a step toward her. "I apologize for inconveniencing you – see that? Did I just say that? Am I just a lump of metal to you? Fine. But I am coming with you." Lucca and Nadia just stared. "I am sorry. That was inappropriate. You have obviously suffered. I did not mean to capitalize on that. May I come with you?"

Nadia turned away, but Lucca threw up her arms. "Fine. What do I care? We'll just have to figure out what to do with you, that's all."

"I promise to be of service in any way I can."

"Well, you aren't invented where I come from, so I'm going to have a lot of lying to do."

"Lying? Is it not easier to tell the truth?"

"No, it's just… well – " Lucca looked at the others, then back to the robot. "Let's get out of here. All of us."

"Agreed."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, short chapter. Finally, after that beast of IX. ( Roman numerals superiority)

Okay, I'd like to know how I did with Robo. For one thing, I cut the factory sequence (mostly because I did not want to spend my time writing it), so you're missing any possible character development. If you have any questions about Robo, feel free to discuss them in the reviews, as I need to know how much you could figure out from this chapter. I'll try to answer questions later on, either in future updates, or in these author's notes.

One reviewer recently mentioned something about stereotypical characterization. Is that coming through? I've been trying to break a few stereotypes, mostly Chrono's, so is that working or am I just falling back on the one-dimensional character traits of the game? You can tell me what you think. I'm begging you, actually. If you ever think anything while reading this, tell me in a review! (Well, if it has to do with the story, duh.)

That's all. Not sure how long the next update will take. But I'm really looking forward to reviews... mostly becuase I haven't the slightest idea if what I write works unless YOU TELL ME.


	24. XI: Time Apart from Time

**Chapter XI – Time Apart from Time**

Chrono had never been happier to see that glowing blue orb. His view was a bit lopsided, as he was draped over the robot's shoulder. "This is it?" Robo asked. "It is far too small for us to fit."

"That's what this is for," Lucca said, whipping out her key. "We are so out of here."

The portal opened to swallow them, and they eagerly stepped inside. All at once it seemed the last few days were only a dream, and they were looking into a window that led back to that future. They got a long look before the window started to shrink. But it seemed to be unwilling to take the four of them away – opening and closing, almost as if it were trying to close a bag that was overflowing. Every time one end closed, the other would pop open. Then that other end would close, and the first end opened again. Chrono looked at the others; they appeared to be talking, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. And they were all slowly turning blue – blending into the background. He looked at his own disappearing hands. _I don't remember this the last time I went through here._

And then everything was black.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The gate never reopened. Everything surrounding the party remained black, except for a little circle of white light underneath them – their only sign that they were indeed somewhere. They couldn't see anything else, not even themselves.

"Wh – where are we?" Nadia asked. Her voice trembled a little, but more out of surprise than fear. The sound died away almost instantly.

"I don't care _where_ we are," Lucca answered, her voice flat. "_When _are we?"

"That's what I meant."

Their attention was brought to the little circle of light again. Now it seemed to grow, shining straight up into the air a few feet. A small pillar of light. This illuminated the ground just under Lucca's feet – wooden planks. As they watched, the ground seemed to spread out before their feet. The light was not revealing more. Rather, it appeared they were watching someone painting, first a brush stroke of dark brown on this side, then on that side. Before long they knew they were standing on some kind of platform, wide in both dimensions. And on the edges was the railing, made of what appeared to be solid gold. What the railings were protecting them from, they could not guess. Everything outside the platform was pitch black – as if they were encased in a box. Directly in front of them was a gate – again made from solid gold, or so it appeared. They couldn't see anything beyond the gate, but they figured if there was anywhere to go, it was through that gate.

Nadia approached the gate. "Are we in some kind of building?"

"I don't think that matters," Lucca said. "I just want to know if we're back in our time or not."

"Well, we could be on the other side of the planet for all we know."

"Yes," Lucca put a hand to her chin. "But what is easier – traveling across a planet or traveling across 1000 years?"

"Right."

Nadia was the first through the gate, Lucca on her heels. They disappeared from view instantly, swallowed by the blackness. The blackness was not menacing. It was just there – an absence of light, as if the light hit a wall and could not penetrate any further. Robo didn't move until Lucca came back and gestured for him to follow. Then he, too, crossed through the gate.

Now the floor underneath became visible to Chrono, extending forward until revealing a small staircase going down. Then, from above, there appeared a point of light – about twenty feet ahead of them and a little to the right. The light slowly reached the surrounding floor, another large platform. Just to the left was a large door that led into more blackness. By the door there was a crate with a bucket on top. Straight ahead was an extension of the platform that led nowhere. In the center was an ordinary lamppost, the source of the light. And finally, to the right was a bowl of water on top of a pedestal.

It was this last item that attracted Robo. Though he had no use for water, he knew the humans did. Instinctively he carried Chrono to the bowl and set the boy down in a sitting position. Chrono quickly gripped the bowl and brought it to his face.

He brought it back down just as quickly, shielding his eyes with one free hand. The reflection in the bowl burned all the way into the back of his skull. _Wait – reflection?_ There was no light aside from the lamppost behind him, and no matter how much Chrono tilted the bowl away, the glare still made his eyes sore.

Robo had also noticed this. "Amazing. I have never seen water like this. It is emitting light." Pause. "Perhaps it would be wise not to drink."

But it was too late. Chrono had put the edge of the bowl to his lips, this time with his eyes closed and one hand over his face. Even with the protection, he felt he was looking into a bright red sky. He drew the water into his mouth and swallowed. Right away he gasped and coughed, but didn't dare to remove his hand either from the bowl or his face. The water felt like liquid fire going down his throat and into his stomach. He could feel it coursing through every limb, every joint, every vein. He felt it most in his right leg, his wound throbbing and swelling in reaction.

Then all at once the fire was quenched, and Chrono only felt numbness, which proceeded to pleasure. It was as though the water were now tickling his insides. He began to laugh – short bursts of giggling followed by some loud guffaws. Now he set the bowl down and used both hands to push himself up. The motion made him giddy. He couldn't really tell what was happening, but he knew that he liked it. Instinctively he reached for the bowl again, not even realizing that he was standing on his wounded leg without feeling any pain. Robo grasped his arm – "Chrono, are you sure you are well? That water has not hurt you?" Chrono didn't respond but wriggled out of Robo's grasp.

He was just about to take another drink when Nadia cried, "Chrono! Look at your leg!" She sounded shocked. He looked down. So? There were two legs.

It took him a few seconds before he noticed that he could not find his wound. He even rubbed his leg, then clawed at it. Still, no pain – beyond that of scraping off some skin.

"Did the water do that?" Nadia wondered.

"No, what do you think?" Lucca shot back.

Robo held up a hand. "Impossible. Water is critical to the health and stability of humans, but it has no healing capabilities. In fact, no substance on earth can heal as quickly as you have just apparently been healed."

"Well," said Lucca, "then I'll just have to see for myself." She scurried down and scooped up the bowl, tilted her head back, and just let the water pour into her mouth.

Two seconds later, she had dropped the bowl and was on her knees, spewing out what water hadn't already gone down her throat. (Strangely, this water had no light emitting from it, while the water which had spilled out of the bowl when Lucca dropped it was too bright to look at.) Chrono could see the look of shock on her face, almost identical to the one he wore not one minute before. And, as quickly as that look had come, it was replaced by another look of shock – this time of extreme pleasure. Lucca chuckled once, then swooned and fell right over. She was awake, but she didn't look like she was moving anywhere for a while.

Nadia picked up the bowl. "Nadia, do not be a fool!" Robo cautioned, but she had already put the bowl to her mouth.

"Just one little sip," she said, then parted her lips and let some water in. Her eyes popped open, and she panted for breath (though she had enough sense to hold on to the bowl). She was certainly in pain, but obviously much better off than poor Lucca. And before long she was relaxed and sitting down against the railing, eyes half-closed, mouth smiling, arms in her lap.

Robo looked from one downed human to another and made a decision. He swooped up the bowl and set it back on the pedestal, just in time to keep Chrono from getting it. The boy had come out of his trance, and, still feeling a little tipsy, instinctively returned to give himself a boost. "No, Chrono. You are all fools," Robo admonished, sweeping away all the little puddles of water on the floor. "You would drink so much until you were dead."

The robot went to work reviving Lucca, who gazed with unseeing eyes in the direction of the miraculous water.

"Chrono, get me something to drink."

Chrono looked around him. He couldn't tell where the voice had come from.

"Bring me that bowl."

Nobody seemed to hear the voice but him, so Chrono ventured to speak. "Hello?"

"Chrono, get me something to drink."

"Who said that?" The voice didn't respond. "Hello?"

"Just bring me the bowl, please."

Chrono stood, but didn't go back to the water. Instead he started to look around for the source of the voice.

He jumped back – there, under the lamppost, was a human form. An old man, covered in robes and a hood. The man had blended into the lamppost, so Chrono had thought he was just another crate… or some object. He bowed his head, realizing that this man had been witness to everything.

"You've seen me. Now will you get me a drink?" The old man's voice sounded full of disappointment.

Now Robo noticed the old man. "No, sir. I am afraid it is a dangerous substance. You can see what has occured when we tried it ourselves."

The old man acknowledged the machine. "You are thoughtful - but I will manage." Robo sort of bowed, then went to retrieve the bowl. "No – I want Chrono to get it for me."

"Yes, sir."

Chrono got the bowl and brought it to the old man, who took it gently from his hands. "You could have said yes or no and I would have been satisfied. You won't always see the person who is talking to you next."

"Yes, sir," was all the boy could say. The feeling of intense pleasure had faded away, and he eyed the bowl of water hungrily. Wordlessly, the old man put the water to his lips and drank. Chrono could see the man struggling with pain, holding himself together. "It hurts when you drink it, too?"

"Always, but when I am done, I am clean. So are you."

Robo stepped to the old man. "Pardon me. I do not understand. How can you be clean by drinking that water?"

"Water?" the old man raised a white eyebrow. "This is not water, it is light. It is always surprising to have light coursing through your veins, rather than merely reflecting off them."

"Impossible. If that were light, it would have escaped... that is, you cannot contain light. It has no form and no mass - "

"You are quite right. What is your name?"

Robo bowed again. "R266-Y, sir." Then he added. "My friends have called me Robo."

"I'm sure you'll get used to it."

"What's going on?" Nadia's voice butted in. She seemed to be over her stupor, and noticed the new stranger. "How long have I been asleep?"

"You did not sleep," the old man replied. "You are just not used to light."

Nadia wrinkled her nose. "Okay."

"I do not understand," Robo stammered. "This is impossible. All of this is impossible."

The old man raised an arm – covered in a long brown sleeve – and said, "so is a thinking, feeling machine. You are not machine. And yet you are not human, for you would have already had a drink from the bowl. As you won't tell we what you are, I won't tell you how the light stays in the bowl. You'll just have to accept that as fact."

"Yes, sir."

"What did I miss?" Now Lucca staggered into the group. She looked like she had been recently rolled down a hill in a barrel. "Who is this guy?"

Nadia just shrugged. "Where are we?"

The old man smiled, his face wrinkling to form a hundred smiles. "I think you know the answer to that question."

"I've told you…" Lucca's voice trailed off. "Look, _when_ are we?"

"I can't answer that."

"Just give me a year and I'll figure the rest out."

"Sorry. There is no number for this year, nor for this century, or millennium. In fact, there is no day for today, or hour for right now."

"What is this, then? The End of Time or something?"

"Oh, no. Surely you know better than that," the old man teased. "Time has no end, as much as a plane or a line has no end. This is a time apart from time. This is no time."

The four were silent.

"Allow me to explain. Take four lines and put them so each end connects with one other end. What do you have? A square. Four one-dimensional objects create one two-dimensional object. Now take six squares, and arrange them so they are four deep, and three wide – in a cross. You know, then, that if you fold those squares together, they form a cube. Six two-dimensional objects create one three-dimensional object. As we are not conscious of higher dimensions, we can only speculate further, but: take eight cubes and arrange them so they are four deep, three wide, and three long – a sort of pike. If those objects are folded together, you get one four-dimensional object. Continue and continue, and eventually you get to the dimension of time. Just as you can go back and forth on a line, you can go back and forth in time – only if you can step out of all the other dimensions. But we are all trapped on it, just as you are trapped on your planet. I assume you know now that your planet travels through the universe? Very well, you are traveling on a three-dimensional object through three-dimensional space, yet you do not feel it. Well, at the same time, you are traveling on time through time, and you cannot feel it. Do you follow me so far?

"Now you have managed to come out of time itself. Even to travel within time is a physical impossibility, so to exit that dimension is quite a feat. I suppose you were sent here because this is the place of 'least resistance.' As there is no time here, any gate can send you at any time. And I've noticed that, when traveling in large groups, it is easier to come here. Most trips are successful if there are few travelers.

"Well, enough about me. Tell me about yourselves. I assume this is no accident you all showed up at my place." The four stood and stared. "You don't think this is by chance you got here, do you? Have you ever seen anything happen by chance?" Nobody said anything, so the old man continued. "Chrono, when are you from?"

Chrono jerked. "Ah, er… Guardia."

The old man bent over comically and cupped his hand over his ear. "When?"

"The year 1000. Exactly."

"That's what I want to hear. And your friends?"

"We're also from the year 1000," Nadia muttered. "Uh, except for Robo. He's from the future."

"Future, you say. Interesting. Yet to him, it must be the present. You ladies have names, I assume."

"Nadia. And that's Lucca."

"Thank you."

"Wait!" Lucca interjected. "What about _your_ name?"

"My what?"

"Your name."

She hardly got the words out before the old man continued. "You must be on your way. It is not safe to stay here long. You have got over the wall of time, and now you cannot reflect any blows."

"What?"

"Oh, all you have to do is stand in that pillar of light up there. That is our gate. You may go to any time you wish, provided it is open to you. That is – certain times are opened for some reason or another. So, don't worry about going to the wrong time period. Chances are the only open doors lead to your respective homes. And if not, you'll easily recognize the wrong ones."

Nobody moved. "What are you all standing here for? I have stopped talking."

Lucca left first. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself and simply backed toward the other platform with the pillar of light. Robo followed her, and Chrono followed Robo. Nadia started to leave, but then asked "before we go, may we have another drink from your water?" The old man shook his head and smiled.

They were all on the platform when they heard his voice again. "Wait. I didn't realize… that is, I forgot to say. The door behind me. It's unlocked. You may go through." Again, nobody moved. "I wasn't merely pointing this out. Go. Beyond the door."

Lucca gave the others a quick glance, as if to say, _well, what do you want? Go home right now, or stay here and look behind the door._ Silently they all agreed it wouldn't hurt to stay an extra minute or two and look. Though the old man said the place wasn't safe, they had yet to see any sign of danger. And if they did, they'd just run back and go home. Perhaps, also, they would get another drink of the mysterious water.


	25. XI: Time Apart from Time 2

**Time Apart from Time**

They stopped before the door and just stared at it. There was nothing behind it – just the blackness. Lucca reached her hand around the door frame – nothing. But as this wasn't the first paradox they'd seen here, she opened the door without another thought. Through the door they all saw another room, square, about as large as the platform they stood on. It was empty, and surrounded by a very high railing. They could see everything through the door, but curiously, when they poked their heads around the door frame, there was nothing but blackness. Once they looked through the doorway again, the room reappeared.

Without so much as a shake of the head they filed in. Chrono courteously closed the door after everyone had entered, shutting off the view of the first platform. At the sound of the door closing, they all looked back as if the platform would never appear again.

"Greetings," came a voice from behind them. They whirled around to see a figure standing in the middle of the room. It was short – about half Chrono's height – and shaped not unlike a ball. Except for its face, which resembled a monkey's, and its stubby hands and feet, it was covered in white fur. They didn't even begin to guess what the thing was, or even try to figure out how it got in the room so quickly. "No, I didn't sneak into the room. You did." Lucca began to laugh – abrupt, harsh snorting through pursed lips. "My looks are amusing to you?"

The thing turned to Chrono. "What do you think? How do I look to you? Weak, perhaps?"

Chrono nodded.

"I see. Let me put it this way: if you are strong, then I appear strong. If you are weak, then I appear weak." There was a pause. "Well? Are you just going to stand there like perfect fools?"

Robo bent over, an awkward bow. "Pardon us." His voice had an edge to it. "What are you?"

"What? Don't bother. Let's keep this short… I am Spekkio. The Master of War."

Now it was Chrono's turn to laugh.

"You doubt me? Look me in the eye. And keep a straight face."

Chrono stared for the longest time, feeling more like a fool then before. Suddenly he fell straight back, unable to keep his feet under him. "There," Spekkio said. "You could not hold your ground."

"What?" Chrono mumbled, shakily getting back to his feet.

"You want to see magic tricks? Watch." A bolt of lightning came out of the creature's arms and enveloped the boy. Chrono instinctively covered his face, but pulled his arms down when he realized he was unhurt. The lightning stopped. "Just tricks. If I wanted to, I could kill you. I could kill you all without shedding one tear… but there are no accidents. You didn't just stumble over that film of Lavos. And now you have two choices. You can ignore this and die like the rest of them… or you can use your knowledge to fight. Well, technically, there are more choices. You could kill yourselves, or take dance lessons, or any number of things."

Chrono looked at the others. Apparently he wasn't the only one not getting it.

"That's why I brought you in here."

"Wait – hold it." Laucca held up a hand. "We've had a relly, really long week and we don't want to think any harder than we have to."

"Death strikes when you are weakest."

"See – that! Stop doing that. Tell us something… happy… for once."

The creature Spekkio scrunched his brow, his eyes playful. "Happy comes and goes, like me."

"What?"

"I forgot. What does the name 'Lavos' mean to you?"

Lucca backed up, eyes revealing deep frustration.

"Are you ready to listen? Then listen. You all know the truth about the world's premature end. So? Many people know that. Only now you have the power to do something about it. You can travel through time… not very many people have that trick perfected." Lucca started to speak again, but Spekkio raised an arm. "Yes, you are merely children. But to me, the oldest man is a child. And now you have something no one has had since the Dark Ages. The power over the elements… Magic."

Chrono wanted to say something, but he couldn't tell which statement to respond to. Instead, Lucca responded: "Magic? What?"

"That's what it was called by the Enlightened Ones. You see, for the longest time they thought they were masters of the Earth. They had their own system of four 'elements' of the world: lightning, water, fire, and shadow. Of course, you, being of such a sound, scientific mind, would immediately see the problem. Wouldn't you?"

Lucca just squinted at the creature.

"Never mind. Anyway, they divided the world into these four 'elements' and called it magic. See, they thought they had somehow created this ability in themselves to do great works. Of course they got it all wrong. You see, there is no such thing as 'shadow' – rather there is the absence of 'light,' and they couldn't explain how some water mages – they called themselves 'mages' you see – the water mages could control water and not ice, and some control ice and not water, and so on and so forth. Where was I? Oh – the Enlightened Ones quickly grew in power and became corrupt. What would you expect when men become powerful? They were destroyed. Only a few survived. They were known as wizards for a while. You see, this strange 'Magic' power flowed through their blood – hereditary, you would say now. You invent a whole word that means the same thing as 'blood.' The last of them died off quite a few years before any of you were born. So no one has the power of Magic but you."

Now all of them squinted at the creature. "Wait a minute," Nadia said. "What was that?"

"I don't want to have to say it again. I'm sure if you study your history, you'll learn all about this."

"Funny," Lucca smirked. "I never read about any of that trash."

"Well, who said you had to _read _about it?"

"Never mind."

"Wait," Nadia spoke up again. "You said no one has the power of Magic but us. How is that possible?"

"How is it impossible?"

Lucca tried not to growl when she spoke. "Look. Just say it."

"Are you in a hurry?"

Chrono stepped up to the creature. "Yes."

"You are quite comical. Of course you wouldn't have the power of Magic because of blood. So I gave it to you."

_Oh that explains everything…_

"Where did you think the Enlightened Ones got their power?"

Nadia looked shocked. "_You_ gave them…"

"No, actually. It's not _my _power anyway. One of my friends did it. I guess it was the right thing. I'll never know."

"So you are now giving the power to four unknowns?" Robo asked. Chrono was surprised – Robo had been content to stay back from the start of the conversation. "What do you mean?"

"Unknowns?" Spekkio shook his head – or rather, his entire body – in what looked like disbelief. "I know all about you. Well, not _all_, but a lot more than you know about each other. I've seen far more than the old man outside. I know what you, Chrono, ate for breakfast on your seventh birthday. I know the names of all the girls you've 'fallen in love with,' as I recall you sighing. I know all the chilling words you wrote in your journal the night before the Millennial Fair." Chrono stepped back. "Hey, did you really believe that? There's no way I could remember all that, but In can look through the fabric of time and space again and take notes if you want."

Lucca rolled her eyes. "Is it just me, or is this conversation jumping all over the place?" she mouthed to Chrono.

"I think I've gone on long enough. Let's start with you Chrono. You're what the ancients would call 'Lightning.'" Spekkio stared at the boy.

Chrono just stared back. "Now?" he said after a long silence.

"No," Spekkio replied, "you've had it your whole life. You just never knew it."

"What?"

"Oh don't tell me you fell for that one, too. You've only had it for a few minutes, and you can't just _feel_ it like it's a sugar rush."

"Sugar what?"

"You do know what this means, don't you?"

"…actually, no, I – "

"Good. And you, Princess Nadia, you're 'Water.' That's actually not true, though. In reality, I guess I could say you're 'Ice,' although – "

"Ice is just frozen water anyway," Lucca finished, rolling her eyes again. "And what am I?" This didn't come off as a question as much as a sigh of resignation.

"Fire, actually. I figured I'd let you each have one of the basics. Round you out a little." Spekkio appeared to be smiling, or what might have been smiling for a creature of his comical shape. Maybe he just had something in his eye.

Chrono just looked at the others. Nadia didn't even look like she had registered the last ten minutes of information. Lucca probably didn't believe a word of it. And Robo just stood a few feet away, not saying anything. _What did Robo get?_

"I'm sure you all have questions," Spekkio continued.

"Yeah, I have one," Nadia said, snapping back to reality. "Why us? We've been in some freak accident and now you're giving us Magic?"

"It's not really 'Magic,' but we'll call it that for now. And there are no such things as accidents. Yes, Lucca, even for you." Lucca jerked in surprise. "Lucky guess, really. But I can watch you when… never mind. But you all are perfect for this gift. You are pure of heart."

Lucca folded her arms across her chest. "Pure of heart. Right."

"You learn fast. No man is pure of heart - that's something to remember. Well, let me put it to you this way: you may not be the only ones who know of Lavos, but you are the only humans who have traveled through time, know about Lavos, and are in the position to do something about it. Understand?"

"Whoa!" Nadia threw up her hands. "No way. Not happening."

"Fine. If you don't do it, someone else will. We'll find someone willing. But why would you turn down such a divine calling? Most people spend their whole lives without a purpose. Do you want to turn down the only purpose that might present itself to you so clearly?"

"Hey," Chrono butted in. "We may have this almighty 'Magic' stuff – "

"It's not 'Almighty…'"

"Whatever. But we still can't take this on. What you need is a good, strong army… Wow, I can't believe what I'm talking about."

"Another thing." Lucca. "Why give us one power? If you wanted us to win, why couldn't you let us master all elements?"

Spekkio waved a hand at her. "The same reason I've been doing this for thousands of years. If I gave one man the power over everything… even mastery of one element… he would rule, and destroy, the world. But if I give many people several small powers – they must be accountable to one another or annihilate themselves. It sounds ruthless, but those are my commands. I don't have the authority to grant omnipotence, for I am not omnipotent."

"Whatever."

Chrono cut in. "Then what about Robo?" _Too loud_. Then, softer. "What about the robot. Does he get one of your almighty powers?"

"Not almighty. And, no. He already has power beyond any human. Not only was he made with all the stored knowledge of men, but he has a spirit." Lucca rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know. Robots don't _think_, and they don't _feel,_ and they certainly don't have _spirits_. You are absolutely right. This machine has a spirit."

There was a long pause. "I see you have no more questions." Lucca chuckled, then stopped suddenly as if she had burped without saying _excuse me_. "Before you go, I have one last word. May God be with you."

"Yeah, sure." Lucca again. She and Chrono traded looks. "We'll remember that."

Spekkio turned in a full circle. "Wait! Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! You're not going anywhere until I tell you how you _use_ magic."

"I was wondering when you'd say that," Nadia smirked.

"Oh, there's no trick to it, though… you need no incantations. All you need is yourself. The power has been freely given, of course only to a certain extent (We're not stupid, you know). You only have to tap into it. Chrono, your lightning is at your fingertips. All you have to do is, um, send it out to me." Chrono cocked his head to one side and suppressed a laugh. "Oh, is that not scientific enough for you? Well, that's all it is. You don't have to shout 'Lightning!' or recite from the magic spell book. Just let it flow through you. Actually, it's not really going _through_ you, or you'd be cooked. Let's try it this way. It's like you're throwing a ball. The ball isn't literally a part of you, but you control it. So if you want to throw the ball... Imagine the ball is something else, now – a bolt of lightning, that's a good example. Can you picture that?"

Chrono held out his hands with a sly grin. He put his palms down, closed his eyes, and began to chant in some strange language he must have made up on the spot.

"What are you doing!" The cry enough brought Chrono to his knees. Spekkio looked furious. "Never – you never have to do anything outside of yourself if you have the power! You think it's funny now, making incantations. Never call on evil to do your bidding. You've been given this power. If you have to call on some sort of god to give you _more_ power, you'll kill yourself."

"Sorry," Chrono mumbled, putting his hands in his pockets. The look on his face told Spekkio he hadn't gotten a word of what was just said.

"You are free to use your powers whenever you want, and however you want. I will warn you, though, that if you use them for your own glory, you will be defeated. That's how all past wizards have ended when they created their own thrones."

"Sure. Right." _What on earth just happened here?_

"You, Nadia. Do you understand what I've been saying?" Spekkio held up a furry hand. Perhaps that would be a somber gesture had he not been in such a roly-poly body. "Don't answer. Show me."

Nadia backed away. "Show you?"

"I didn't just give you this power because I was in a good mood. And I want to see if you understood me. You all are mages for a good reason. Do you any of you know what this means?"

Now Chrono and Lucca took a step back, until they were with Nadia and Robo.

"That's what I thought." The creature covered his face with his hands. "I can only watch you from here, but you will have friends with you. I'll definitely make sure." He said that last part motioning to Chrono.

They blinked, and then – he was gone. No Spekkio. The room was empty. Without so much as another word, they filed out.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Only a few moments later they were back at the pillar of light. The old man wasn't by the lamppost anymore, and they really did not feel like traipsing around the black void of nothingness to find him, so they couldn't ask any questions about Spekkio. They didn't really feel like knowing, anyway. Robo inspected the pillar first. "It appears there is only one time period available."

Lucca followed his gaze. "Yes. And that looks like home."

"How would we know?" Nadia asked. "It could be home. But it could be ten years from home…"

"You're right. I don't recognize any of the landscape, but the architecture of that building looks the same as our time."

Robo's eyed blinked a few times. "You are forgetting what the old man said. He said it would be obvious which time is ours… I mean yours. I do not quite understand, but something about certain time periods allows for the possibility of time travel. My time, for example. I do not think we can go anywhere we please."

"Yes, sir," Lucca grinned. "Well, all for going in?"

Chrono shrugged. "Nothing to lose, right?"

"Nothing we haven't lost already. I'm first since I'm oldest."

"Actually, I am technically older than all of you because – " Robo started to say. But Lucca had already disappeared. Nadia and Chrono were right behind.

" – never mind. I didn't understand."


	26. XII: Home

**Chapter XII: Home**

The first thing Chrono sensed upon coming out of the portal was the scent of pine, followed shortly by the scent and sound of two surprised friends and one robot landing on top of him.

Truth be told, there was no other place to land, for as each of them appeared, Chrono realized there was less and less room to accommodate them. In fact, there was no room at all, and no light. They were in some sort of box. Chrono couldn't see his own hand in front of his face (if that was indeed _his_ hand), but he could feel a bunch of sharp things digging into his back. The box wasn't long enough for Chrono's body, so his legs were splayed straight up until his shoes pressed tight against the ceiling. He wanted to cry out, to say something, but he couldn't even breathe, let alone speak.

Judging by the others' silence, he was sure nobody else could breathe, either. Aside from the initial crashing sound of their arrival, there had been no noise from anyone. So it was very easy to hear what was going on outside.

So far, Chrono had heard a sharp cry and the scuttling of feet. Then there had been silence. Finally – "Are you sure the noise came from in here?" The voice was a little low and gravelly, as if whoever were speaking had eaten a bowl of broken glass before coming in. Chrono gulped… as well as he could with three friends pressing into his lungs.

Then – "I think so. It sounded like someone was raiding the pantry." This voice was a bit higher and much friendlier sounding.

"Are you sure?" The gravelly voice.

"No. It's still locked. No way someone would have had the time to close _and_ lock the door." The friendly voice replied. There was a knock on the wall right next to Chrono's ear, loud as a gunshot. He jerked in reply, or rather, his feet, the only things not weighted down, jerked until they kicked the ceiling. "Wait – what was that?"

"I don't know."

"It sounded like it came from inside this cabinet. Let me check…"

Suddenly light shot into the box, and the four very surprised people tumbled out onto an even more surprised blue creature.

Chrono peeled himself from the floor and began dusting off his rags when he had a knife pressed against his stomach. "What's all this?" It was the gravelly voice, which Chrono could now see belonged to a small, brown creature. His eyes darted back and forth between the two. They looked relatively alike, besides one being brown and the other blue. And now that Chrono really could look, the blue creature had a striking similarity to the creature he met back in the past, when he went to save Nadia.

_What? Then is this a mystic? Where are we – I mean, when are we? Oh, great. We must have gone back to the past again, in the land of the Mystics or something. But the house looks normal, like any place in Truce…_

Chrono craned his neck to see around him. Seems he wasn't the only one up against a knife. Nadia had one to her chest, courtesy of the blue creature. _All right. Now what? If we move, we're dead. We can't escape. We'll just have to… well, take care of these things. All right, why am I fooling myself? We'll have to drop them – either knock them out or something… else. If we don't have to kill them, that's even better. If I just…_

"There's four of them, and only two of us!" The gravelly voice brought Chrono back to reality. "What do we do?"

"All right." It was the blue one. He – it – still had the pearl knife pressed against Chrono's stomach. "I don't know who you are or how you got into my pantry, much less got into my house. But if you don't get out right now you'll be going out in two pieces." (So much for the "friendlier" voice.)

"Hey!" Chrono threw up his hands in surrender. "We're going, we're going."

The brown one growled. "Good, they talk."

Nadia gasped. "This is _definitely_ not home."

"What was your first clue?" Lucca muttered.

"Get in the chair!" The blue creature pointed to a round, wooden table behind the four of them. The table was only waist height, and the chairs were ridiculously low. "Get!" To reinforce the message, the creature twisted the knife harder against Chrono's midsection.

"All right, all right!" he shouted, tumbling back into one of the thatched chairs. The seat burst when he fell on it – and the blue creature growled at him. "Sorry!" Nadia and Lucca flopped into similar chairs but managed not to break them. Robo stood distinctly behind them.

The two creatures both audibly gasped – they finally saw Robo, and realized that he was no ordinary creature and could not be hurt by conventional means. So in a lapse of intelligence they both of course turned their very conventional knives on the robot. This gave Chrono and Nadia the needed opportunity to pounce and pin their opponents to the ground. Both knives clattered at Robo's feet.

"Mercy!" The blue creature cried. (The other one was stonily silent.)

Lucca raised an eyebrow. "That was fast."

"Mercy!"

"Maybe you should get off it."

Chrono and Nadia returned to their seats. The creatures rose to their feet, a little shaken and far more cooperative. Now they were staring at the two pearl knives, one in each hand of the robot. "Please be seated." The humans stood and allowed room for the creatures. "Thank you," Robo said, and put the knives on the table. The humans each braced themselves for another fight, but the creatures didn't seem interested in taking the weapons.

"Take what you like," the brown one growled. "You won't get far."

"We'll see about that," Lucca growled back.

Nadia held up her arms. "Hold on! Who's taking what?" All eyes went to her. "We're not taking anything!"

There was silence until the blue creature shook his head. "Maybe not. But you all got yourself locked in the cabinet. Explain."

"Do you have some more chairs?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The two creatures sat silently the whole time the humans retold the story of their adventures. Except for the occasional narrowing of the eyes, there was no display of emotion. That is, until the name _Lavos_ was mentioned. Both creatures jerked upright and paid attention for the rest of the explanation.

"How do you know all this?" the blue creature gasped.

"Know all of… what?"

"Quiet! Listen – for now, my brother and me will just have to believe you. But do _not_ say that name in here! Do you want to cast a shadow on this house?"

Chrono traded glances with the others. "Well, no, but – "

"Follow me," the blue creature continued. He and his brother hopped out of their chairs and motioned the humans to follow around the corner. "Please don't look for a moment," he said. Chrono turned his head away until the blue creature said "that's all. We're going in here." The creature bounded into a doorway where a wall had been moments earlier. _Nice trapdoor._ The brown one pushed Nadia and Lucca through the opening.

Chrono followed and immediately noticed the lack of light in this new hallway. The walls also looked rougher, hewn out of rock. He ran his hand along the surface and pulled it back – _like rubbing on sharp teeth._ Just then all light was cut off as the brown creature and Robo entered and shut the door. The room was perfectly black for a few seconds until a point of light appeared a couple dozen feet ahead – the blue creature must have been holding a lantern of some kind. _How much good is it? I still can't see the walls._ Still, Chrono blindly followed the bouncing point of light. It felt like he was walking downhill. After what seemed a quarter mile the light stood still, and Chrono jogged up to it.

"Hey, where are we?" Lucca's voice fell flat.

"This door will take us outside."

"Why are we going outside?"

The creature didn't answer. A line of daylight appeared in the ceiling, like it had suddenly split open to reveal the outside world. Chrono felt like he hadn't seen real daylight in weeks, which reminded him of the need to take a long, hot bath. The creature pushed the door up all the way and led everyone out.

Now they were all standing in a little ditch. Chrono supposed this was an escape route for these other creatures. It worked well for them, but not for the humans. Their heads all poked up, seemingly from the ground. If anyone had been walking by, there was no way Chrono's red hair would not have been seen against the green underbrush. As best he could tell, the ditch stood on the rim of a forest. It probably served as some sort of rain collector, but right now it was useful in helping them all escape. _From what, though?_ On the other side of the ditch was a straight dirt road stretching to the left and to the right.

"Heads down!" the brown creature hissed.

"Okay!" Nadia hissed back.

"Now that we're all outside together," Lucca began curtly, "will someone explain why we have to be so secretive all of a sudden?"

"I'll explain," the blue creature raised a claw to shush her, then stood on tip-toe to see if anyone was coming down the road.

"Why don't you start by telling us where we are."

The blue creature ducked down again. "This is the outskirts of Medina village."

"So, we are home…" Nadia muttered.

"Not necessarily – " Lucca said. "What year?"

"436."

"That's not possible. Medina wasn't even founded until 800 something."

"Sorry…" the blue creature blinked a few times, as if in deep thought. A few seconds later, he said "1000."

"Told you we were home."

"Almost," Chrono pointed out. "We have an ocean between us and home."

"Just one?" Nadia shot back.

Lucca cut them off, thinking aloud. "Medina. The land of the Mystics."

_So these wimpy things are what's left of the Mystics?_

"Yes, just down that road. We took you out here to be safe."

"Safe from what?"

"Safe from God."

"Pardon?"

Nadia jumped in. "Oh, I get it now, you mean Lavos – "

"Shh!" the brown one jumped up. "Be careful!"

"Sorry." She wasn't.

Lucca rolled her eyes. "It's just a name. See, watch. Lavos, Lavos, Lavos, Lavos…"

"Quiet!"

The blue creature held up a hand. "If anyone were to hear you, a human, use the name of… you know, in public, you would be killed!"

"Outright? I'd like to see them try," Lucca chuckled.

"No, they'd kill you and make it look like the Wrath of God," the brown creature answered, narrowing his eyes. "They call on the wizards – the great mages of old." Chrono raised his eyebrows. He had heard of mages recently. "Especially Magus the Great. Magus the Great, the Black, the All-Knowing... the title changes a lot."

"Oh, that's nice," Nadia rolled her eyes now.

"So I've heard. I'd just never believed it," Lucca said. "You two aren't that stupid, are you?"

Both of the mystics gave her a harsh glare. "Careful what you say, human," the blue creature warned. "You are only filth to a Mystic. I could murder you right here, right now, and never be punished."

"But you won't…" Nadia's eyes were wide. "Will you?"

"No. Not all Mystics are that way. If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it in the kitchen." The blue creature looked at each human in turn, then finally at the robot.

So far, Robo had said nothing nor given any indication of understanding the conversation, aside from the word "Lavos." But now he seemed compelled to speak. "You fear your god Lavos?"

The mystics were surprised to be faced with such a direct question. "Do I fear him?" the blue one repeated. "Yes."

"Lavos is not _my_ god, that's for sure," the brown one growled.

"Wait a minute…" Lucca was thinking again. "We're in Medina – we meet you two, luckily, so we don't get killed. You drag us out into the middle of nowhere because you're afraid someone will hear us say the name of a god who is not a god. What are you leaving out? We could have said all this in your house."

"That is, until a concerned neighbor overheard us talking," the brown creature interrupted, "and came over and saw us keeping humans – no ordinary humans, but humans who use the name of Lavos. We would have to kill you or be killed right after you."

"Right," the blue creature continued. "You four just had the bad luck of showing up here, if your story is true – "

"It is," Lucca blurted.

"Yes, but you're in trouble now. The only way to the human kingdom is across the ocean, that is, by boat. All boats here are operated by or overseen by Mystics."

The brown creature completed the thought. "That means unauthorized humans on board are enslaved or killed… trust me – death would be easier."

"Thanks. Is there another way? We can't just swim across an ocean."

"No," the blue creature said, "but there is a way to get you on a boat. Follow me to the kitchen."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

By the time the plans were made, the sun was setting. The blue creature (who had now introduced himself as Jarob) herded everyone to the other end of the house. "Night Restrictions: only certain mystics are allowed out after dark. Besides, we have a better claim for closeing the shutters up here." He led them all to a bedroom. It was quite small and had no decoration – just bare wooden walls and a mattress on the floor. "I'm sorry. There's only one bed in our 'guest' room, and it will hardly fit one of you. The others will have to sleep on this floor. We have never made this kind of guest preparations, so you're going to be without a head for tonight. Janob will get you something to cover yourselves."

"Which leaves the question of who gets the head… er, mat," Lucca quipped.

"I think Nadia should get it," Chrono said.

Nadia smiled. "Thank you, Chrono."

"She is the shortest one, so she'll have the most room. Right - and the mat doesn't look so good anyway."

Her smile faltered. "Okay. I take back the 'thank you.'"

"_You_ get to be the one without the head," Lucca added.

The mystics returned and handed some crude blankets to the humans. "Do you really think we'll look like slaves?" Nadia thought aloud.

"We'll see. Everyone knows we've never own slaves - we're too poor and weak to afford humans anyway." Jarob shrugged. "But we can say you just came on a slave ship yesterday. By the time anyone can check slave-trade records, you'll be gone."

Lucca groaned.

"Don't complain," Janob continued. "We could pretend you have been here a long time, but we would have to beat you before we left tomorrow." Chrono frowned; he couldn't tell if this was some sort of Mystic joke. "I have a scourge ready. It hasn't been used in a long time, so the hooks are rusty."

Now he was hoping it was a joke.

"Relax. Janob and me will take care of you."

"We won't even have to get you clothes," Janob smirked, indicating the rags the humans had taken from the future. "Sleep in them. You'll make them dirtier." Chrono didn't want to know why Janob thought they would consider sleeping _without_ them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, first of all, I know I said I'd put a note once at the end of every chapter, but I thought I'd be finishing these chapters once a month - as in, two to three updates. That has not happened, so I've resorted to putting these in whenever I feel like it, which includes now.

First of all, I know, I _know_ I've changed Medina around a little. (A little? Try "a lot.") But as far as the story goes, the original Medina just didn't work - like the Jail Escape sequence. In the game, it's fine and even believable, but not in a novelization. For one thing, there's no conflict in the city of Medina. There is no reason for the city to exist except to tell you Magus "created" Lavos. (If you don't know the story, stop reading because I'll reveal more here.) That could have been done anyway. Plus, Heckran's Cave is just an excuse for a dungeon - I've tried moving that conflict of life/death to the actual city of Medina. Otherwise, I could have just skipped this whole sequence.

In other words, every scenario, scene, place, whatever, has to have some sort of conflict - the characters have to risk something (it doesn't have to be life/death) or face something or there is nothing to write. Example: the trial. Obviously, Chrono is faced with guilty/not guilty. You don't know (unless you've played the game) how the scene will turn out. In the original Medina, the biggest question you have is "oh no, are those imps going to get really mad that people came out of their closet?" So, this long explanation is really me making excuses for why the whole Medina sequence is going to undergo triple bypass surgery. (Besides, if this really is a separate culture of Mystics, why do they behave so humanly as in the game? You'd think they'd have totally different customs and such.)

If something bothers you, go ahead and yell at me. I might "fix" it in the next update (coming before 2007 I hope). I might have already planned to fix whatever problem you find. After all, I never really explain here what's going on. That'll come later, but I promise I know what I'm doing.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?


	27. XII: Home 2

**Home**

Jarob woke his guests early the next morning. "Now is the time."

Chrono blinked a few times, but still couldn't see anything. "It's not even sunrise."

"No, but it is close."

Chrono plodded out of the bedroom and looked out the front window. He could see a sliver of light along the horizon, but nothing else. He heard Lucca complaining behind him. "Wow, when you said early, you really meant it."

"Exactly," Janob said, entering. "The first ship arrives in nearly two hours."

"Two hours?" Nadia's voice. "How far is it?"

"Not too far, but you'll want plenty of time. That means we have to leave now."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The imps led the way along the dirt road Chrono had seen the previous day. It was deserted, or so it seemed, so they all walked at a comfortable, brisk pace. The still air made the stamping and crunching sounds under their feet much louder, and Chrono waited for the moment when a hundred other mystics would leap out from behind a bush and spear them.

Janob assured them that there was little danger here. The real trouble would come at the port.

"That's because it is likely no one will believe you are slaves – especially ours."

"What?" Nadia shook.

Lucca took over. "Right, no one believes you'd own human slaves."

"It is rare," Jarob shrugged. "Only the strongest mystics dare to tame a human. Mostly the weaker mystics take up 'positions of servitude' under some rich miser like Ozzie the Eighth."

"I knew that," Lucca assured him. Chrono shot her a look. "Really, I did."

Jarob ignored her. "Or there are mages who can easily overcome a human."

"Especially if one indoctrinates the human at an early age."

"Or beats someone into submission."

"Or torture with – "

"Hey!" Nadia stammered. "Can we stop talking about this now?"

Jarob and Janob traded looks and kept walking. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get ahead of myself. But now you know what's at stake, at least."

That brought an awkward silence among them that lasted for a long time. Eventually the sun began to show through the thicket of trees, and Chrono found the whole world to be painted in a sort of blue-ish hue instead of black. His eyes were always on the road ahead, watching for the sign of the approaching foe. Occasionally he would glance back in case someone came from behind, but then he would quickly look ahead again, fearing that while he was watching his back, the enemy would leap out of the forest to attack.

Soon Nadia began talking again, but she tried to avoid anything about death, torture, slavery, or the day's events. She struck up a casual conversation (or as casual a conversation as possible) with the two imps. Chrono thought it annoying, mainly because it made concentrating on the invisible foes in the brush much more difficult. He ignored what went on until Nadia brought up education.

Even then he didn't really listen until one of the two creatures said "surprisingly, the two of us were schooled in one of the human cities… Porre, I believe."

"Oh… then how did you end up here?" Nadia continued. "Is your family from this place?"

Chrono stopped walking. "No… that's not the right question." The others stopped and looked at him as if he had chosen the wrong time to speak. But he was suddenly excited and didn't notice their expressions. "It should be how you are going to get _back_ to Porre." Nadia just wrinkled her brow, but Lucca winked at Chrono, as if to say _finally, you solved the puzzle._

After a terrible silence, Janob rubbed his forehead and spoke hesitantly. "Yes… that is a good question. We had always thought it would be nice to get back."

"Yet somehow you never found time, is that right?" Lucca took over. "You live in fear of death, yet you never thought to just hop on a boat yourself and escape? What, do they not let you out around here? I think you're not telling us something – something very important."

"W - we left nothing out!" Jarob stammered.

"I don't believe you."

"So we envy the human world. Why does that bother you?" Janob kept his cool and began walking again. The others waited a split second, then jogged to catch up. "I promise we've told you everything you need to know."

Lucca didn't look one bit relaxed. "What we need to know is why you're all so willing to help us poor humans out. What do you get out of this? Nothing. Tell me you're not planning to sell us out and take our places on this 'boat.' You're going to have enough time for that, I think."

No one spoke the rest of the walk.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The sun was up when they got to the port. Chrono saw that Medina Port looked as up-to-date as anything he had seen in Truce. The shore was littered with various small white buildings, clustered into little groups. In the middle of all of those was an open circle, like a town center, but smaller. Despite the fact that no boats were in the dock and nothing could be seen out on the water, there were already nearly a hundred mystics milling about. Very few of them looked small and harmless.

Jarob seemed to read his mind. "Relax. As long as you look like a slave, everyone will ignore you."

"Promise?" Lucca smirked.

The imps didn't bother answering her. They pressed on through the crowd, beckoning the humans (and Robo) to follow. Chrono did his best to look like a slave, but he wondered if there was more to it than staring at the ground and pulling his rags over his head. Now he couldn't see where he was going (which was a small blessing for him) and had to hold out his hands and perform his best blind man imitation. He was grateful to only bump into a few creatures here and there, most of them small, and that the bigger ones weren't in the mood to kill him. Occasionally one of the imps would grab his arm and pull him along.

He knew they had reached their destination when he bumped into something that felt like a rock wall. Not only that, but Lucca told him. "Congratulations, Chrono, you looked like a slave _and_ a half-wit. And the door was just a little to your left."

"You can remove the… er, hood now," Janob said. "Follow us inside." He went through the door, followed by his brother. Lucca and Chrono merely exchanged a glance that said "what now?" before going in with the rest. There was a whole lot less light in the building, and Chrono spent a few moments blinking, wandering around, and running into more walls. "This way, to the slave chamber." _Slave chamber! That doesn't sound hospitable. _"Relax, all slaves are required to wait there while the 'masters' collect tickets. Whatever happens, please, stay in this room and sit down. No matter what - _do not leave!_"

They were herded into what looked and felt like a small lobby. There was only one place to sit – on a wooden bench under the only window. But this window didn't look to the outside world. It looked in to what could only be some sort of ticket booth. So far, no one saw either of the imps in that room. What they did see was a large turtle-like creature behind the "booth" (actually a wooden desk) and an even larger turtle carrying something in his hand. Nobody could tell just what that something was because of the light, but Chrono had a gut feeling it wasn't an umbrella. There was another door in their "slave chamber," one right next to the bench, and it led into that room, right up to the turtle with the "umbrella."

Lucca and Nadia sat down right away. Chrono followed and sat next to Lucca, craning his neck to see out the window from time to time. Robo just stood off to the side, refusing to get involved. "We're going to have to get out of here," Nadia said suddenly.

"Oh, really?" was Lucca's response.

"I don't think this is a normal waiting room…" her voice shook.

"So if we run, how do we get on the ship?" Chrono asked. "Those two things are supposed to get some kind of tickets for us…"

"Which they won't," Lucca corrected.

"We don't know that - and they said to stay here anyway. But don't we have a better chance waiting here to die then running around looking to die?" Chrono smirked. "Until we know for sure, why not stay right here. The first sign of danger, we run for it. How's that sound?"

Lucca spoke first. "I think that's the smartest thing you've said for weeks."

"Not funny."

"I wasn't joking."

"Shh…" it was Nadia. "Jarob and Janob just got in." Chrono and Lucca immediately got up to look. Indeed, the two imps were inside, but they were being shoved toward the booth by a gargoyle with purple wings. They didn't look too pleased about this, and they appeared to be complaining about something. But, Chrono couldn't hear anything more than a low murmuring through the window. Now Jarob and Janob seemed to be arguing with the turtle behind the desk.

"Does this look like danger?" Nadia looked to the others.

"Not for us," Lucca replied, shushing her.

Then the imps pointed directly at them. Chrono jumped back about two feet. Jarob and Janob were yelling something and pointing into their room. The turtle behind the desk just waved his hand as if bored with the imps' melodrama. It signaled the turtle with the umbrella, who immediately stomped toward the slave chamber. When it stepped into the light, Chrono saw that the "umbrella" suddenly looked a lot like a metal rod with spikes coming out of the top.

It was Robo who spoke. "Would this be considered dangerous?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The four of them rushed out of the building as fast as they could. As far as they could tell, nobody was hot on their trail. But with the hundreds of mystics gathered just outside the building, they weren't going to take any chances. Right away they headed for the docks, trying to look as casual as possible, despite the fact they were walking quite fast and looking over their shoulders frequently.

Chrono never saw anything behind him that looked threatening (or at least a different kind of threatening from everything else), but he couldn't resist peeking anyway. Of course, not looking in front of him, he slammed right into another body. Both of them fell to the ground in a heap.

His friends stopped to help him up. "Quit fooling around, Chrono!" Lucca shouted as she pulled on one arm.

"Wait!" came the voice from underneath Chrono. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"What?..." Lucca adjusted her glasses. "Look at this... you just bowled over that creepy guy from Truce!"

"Old Man Melchior?" Chrono didn't believe it either.

They stopped long enough for the old man to grab Chrono by the shoulder. "The usual custom is to run with your eyes _forward_, young man," he muttered. Then, to the rest of them, "I don't suppose you're here for business."

Robo stepped forward. "Pardon?"

Old Man Melchior was surprisingly unmoved by the sight of the robot. "Listen to me when I speak, young Chrono. What ever possessed you to run away to Medina now? Of all the places to hide…"

"Hide?" everyone said at once.

"And now you've gotten your friends into this mess too. I should have known you would do something like this."

"Excuse me… do I know you?" Chrono jerked free of Melchior's grip. Just as he turned to flee, something very large came up from the harbor.

The old man grabbed Chrono again. "Don't run… 'The Boss' will be all over you."

"Let go, creep!" He jerked and fell to the ground.

Nadia and Lucca backed up to the nearest building as the creature came closer. It was close to seven feet tall, and about four feet wide, with large blue scales all down its back. On its belly was a pattern of gold stripes, the same color as its teeth, claws, and spikes on its shoulders. And what monster would be complete, Chrono wondered, without blood red eyes? He got up to run, but Melchior got a firmer grip on his shoulder. The beast came closer, and closer, until it was right next to them… and it kept on walking.

Chrono let out a sigh of relief so great he felt himself get shorter. He released himself from Melchior's hand and started off again, but before he got anywhere, he was thrown off his feet by a large crash. In fact, as he looked up, he noticed his friends, Melchior, and most of the other mystics around were now lying on the ground… except for the beast. It strode – six feet with each step – all the way back to the humans.

"What! What is THIS?" The monster roared with a harsh, throaty voice. Chrono guessed that was the usual volume level for a creature that size, but it surprised him when it said "I suppose you are the humans on the loose." Chrono marveled at the perfect (if somewhat raspy) diction the beast had achieved for its awkward, reptilian maw. But that calm demeanor suddenly gave way to an abrasive grunt as it scooped up the nearest human… Nadia. She didn't scream. In fact, she didn't do anything, but stare at the six-inch long nails around her arm. "You're not guilty of anything – yet. She's mine."

Melchior was actually the first person to object – "I don't think that's possible" – followed shortly by the rest – "Oh no you don't." Chrono found himself leaping at the enemy before his rational mind could hold him back.

To his surprise, the monster immediately released Nadia. But that, Chrono soon found out, was only so he could grab him with both claws – around the neck. "You, then. I'll only want one of you." Chrono would have objected, but he was having difficulty in speaking, let alone breathing. All that came out was a pathetic wheeze, like a slowly deflating balloon. "SPEAK UP, THEN!" the beast suddenly roared at him, removing all his urges to do anything except close his eyes and pray for a quick death.

The next thing he knew he was being dragged – by the neck – across the ground. That only lasted for a few seconds before the beast stopped. "Wait!" Chrono opened his eyes long enough to see Melchior coming his way. "Heckran, you swaggering fool." _So, it has a name._ "I insist you cannot take this boy, or any of the others. They are mine."

The beast Heckran released his grip just a little. Chrono took the opportunity to breathe. "_Your_ slaves?" he growled, as if ready to attack.

"Of course not." Melchior seemed to falter a little, and he adjusted the collar on his tunic.

"He's family," Lucca supplied. "_His_ family," she added, pointing to the old man.

Melchior continued, a little slower than before. "That's right. Now you can't take off my grandson like this. I'll see about that with the authorities."

The grip around Chrono's neck tightened. He took one last breath before his airway was constricted again. "You have proof?" Heckran uttered a snarl and took a step toward the old man. "Don't forget…" the beast trailed off, releasing one hand from Chrono's neck to point at Melchior, "I OWN this place! You don't have a grandson – you don't have any family. This _thing_ is my property now. I'll do what I like."

Chrono felt the beast tighten the grip on his neck again. Now he couldn't breathe at all. He pulled his hands up to his chin, as if trying to pry the monster's nails from around his throat – but the position of his body and the fact he had no air supply drained all his strength. He saw Lucca and Nadia spring into action, running toward him, although he hadn't the slightest idea what they could possibly do (and Robo watched silently, completely oblivious).

The next few seconds seemed to take years. Chrono rushed from thought to thought – he had to do something to get free, and he searched his memory for anything. _V-Mob, Nadia's Pendant – I'm dying, I'm really dying – Mom – Dad… The Telepod, Yakra, Lavos – Can't breathe – Time Travel, Gate, Gate, Gate, Gate Key – that's it, no it's not, it's closer, but – Time, Time, Time… Magic – Furry white things_… Now he could remember a few words: "All you need is yourself." _Something about… magic… Lightning – oh this is so stupid. I can't call on lightning bolts… but seeing as there are no other options…_

Chrono began to concentrate – on lightning, on light, on anything besides his air supply. Besides which, he hadn't a clue on what he was supposed to do. But he suddenly felt unafraid and in control. He put his hands on the beast's claw and just concentrated – as if by will he could summon the world's largest thunderstorm. No rain clouds appeared, but the next thing he knew the grip around his neck had become impossibly tight, and he heard a throaty roar behind him – and he was propelled up in the air and into the side of the nearest building.

He didn't get up right away. Rather he felt like lying very still and taking a few well-earned deep breaths. But from his position, he could see just what had happened, as everyone in all of Medina had frozen in place to watch. The beast Heckran lay on the ground in shock, not wounded but very surprised. The girls were just standing there, staring at it in disbelief. (What Robo was thinking, who knew?) All the mystics nearby looked either like they really wanted to flee for their lives, or beat the humans to death. The only one who appeared unmoved by the whole thing was Melchior, who shouted "Fool! Seven feet tall on the outside, two feet on the inside."

Slowly, Heckran got to his feet. "Just you wait – lousy human." Perhaps the beast was trying to sound intimidating, but his voice was so shaky that it came out as a whimper. "Why Lavos hasn't come and destroyed you all hundreds of years ago – "

Melchior stamped his foot. "Go away, go carry on your sniveling someplace else."

Heckran looked ready to pounce on the old man, but looked at Chrono once more and decided it was not worth the trouble.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nadia told Melchior everything as they headed down to the pier. It turned out the old man frequently visited Medina, to the point where he could easily get passage to Truce for three humans (and a robot). He said he even kept a shop there, though Chrono couldn't understand why he would put up with the mystics (or, for that matter - how). But his frequent excursions explained why he wasn't often seen in Truce.

Melchior seemed genuinely troubled when Nadia brought up the subject of the two imps. "They were trying to turn us in to get passage to the human world, I guess."

"Are you serious?" the old man asked. "Who are these two you speak of again? I know of Jarob and Janob… I doubt they'd do something backward like that. I should see to them anyway. They're likely in more trouble than you now."

"Yes, please. Thank you," Lucca waved the old man off, but he was slow in leaving.

"We'll be seeing more of each other soon," Melchior said as he turned the corner.

The minute he had disappeared, Chrono pulled Lucca aside. "All right, what just happened?"

"In a moment of divinely fortuitous and coincidental timing, some nice old crazy bought us four tickets home."

"No…" Chrono grimaced. "Not that. The _other_ thing."

"Oh, that." Lucca shrugged.

Robo finished the thought. "I believe the beast suffered a massive electrical shock."

"And you would know…"

"Yes, I would. After all, I am made with electronic parts, so naturally I - "

Lucca tapped the robot on the shoulder (producing a strange clanking sound). "Right. We understand. That's impossible."

Now Nadia joined. "No, not exactly... do you remember that crazy Spekkio… thing?" Nobody answered – everyone stood with an expression that indicated they remembered but were trying to convince Nadia they hadn't a clue. "What if… what if he was right?"

"About what?" Lucca asked, though she probably knew very well _what_.

"He said something about magic, and that Chrono had the power of 'lightning'."

Lucca didn't respond – it was clear she knew Nadia was right, but she was having a hard time letting it out. Finally Chrono responded for her. "I believe – haven't you always said electricity and lightning are the same thing?"

"Fine."

"Fine _what_?"

Lucca gave an exasperated sigh. "_Fine_, you win. I believe…" She gave a dramatic pause. "But there is one condition, when we get home. _No one knows._"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so I technically kept my promise. I updated before the new year, and I am NINE HOURS ahead of schedule. I have a good reason to be late, though. In case you never heard, up in Western Washington we had the massive storm and I was without power for about a week. From then on, my internet connection was unreliable... so I think this excuse is really good in these circumstances.

About the chapter, though. It felt a little rushed to me, like some characters and themes never got developed. I'm not sure if I want to describe them more in future chapters (coming 2063) or take care of that in the editing process. Either way, the only character I really needed to worry about was Melchior, for reasons which you already know. Or, perhaps, you haven't played the game all the way and you haven't a clue who this guy is. Actually, the first thing I wonder is why he sets shop up on an island WITH NO ESCAPE ROUTE except through the lair of a horribly out-of-proportion dinosaur. (No, really, it makes sense in the game... but for continuity purposes I decided to perform triple-bypass-surgery and change everything.)

Anyway, feel free to make comments, even flames. I'll ignore flames. Either that or I'll copy/paste everything and forward flames to people I don't like. ("Oh, I got a message from that one guy! What's it say? Huh? - 'my dead grandmother still writes better than you.' - I don't get it, I'm an engineer!")

All humore aside, I'm eager for comments. This is quite a divergence from the normal plot line. Oh - and the first 'use' of magic. I know it's sketchy at best... but I had a hard time believing three kids who traveled through time and watched the end of the world were hankering to fight the spawn of evil. Just me. So I had to create a circumstance which forced someone to use magic, thus allowing everyone to _believe in themselves_ so that Christmas would be the most magical time of year... I mean, so that the story could progress to: PART DEUX (2)

By the way, that means I consider everything up to now PART UN (un).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Note from Author's alter-ego: Ignore terrible attempts at humor. It's New Year's Eve and he doesn't have a date.


	28. XIII: Heroes Return

**Chapter XIII: Heroes Return**

Chrono had never felt so good to be back in Truce. He was sure everyone felt about the same. (Everyone, that is, except Robo.) The boat ride had taken a little more than two days – two days of nothing but sea and sky and a lot of angry mystics. For the most part Chrono stayed out of their way. He thought the irony of dying ten steps from home too deep to be funny.

The boat stopped at the south end of Truce, nearest Lucca's home. So that was where they went first. Fortunately the sun was just going down, so it was too late for nosy passers-by to be out and about, and too early for thieves and prowlers to be on the loose. The darkness provided the cover for Lucca to sneak into the house, followed by her two friends and a robot. "Wait here a moment," she whispered, then snuck off leaving the others in the entryway.

Chrono noticed Nadia and Robo examining all the gadgets strewn about the room – hoses, wires, unrecognizable instruments. They took the time to pretend to be interested when they really didn't care or understand anything and were just passing time. Chrono didn't bother to even pretend, and so he crept toward the other end of the room to find out if he could hear anything.

First came a man's voice – Taban. "You've been gone all day, Lucca. You weren't doing 'nothing.'"

Lucca mumbled something, but Chrono couldn't make it out. Next came a woman's voice, softer – Lara. "Of course we're going to worry. You disappear for no reason leaving nothing but four words scribbled on a scrap of paper." Pause. "What's going on?"

Chrono could make out Lucca's word. "Nothing."

"Okay," Taban said. "How about you bring your friends in here and we'll talk about this." Chrono jumped at the word _friends_, though he couldn't figure out how Taban guessed he was there – almost like how his mother always knew where he was and what he was doing. He figured there was no sense waiting – he stepped in and motioned for Nadia and Robo to follow. They seemed happy for a chance to get involved, for up until then they had been admiring what looked like the remains of a metallic eggshell.

As Chrono stepped into the kitchen he felt the light leave the room. In fact, he could see very little aside from a lamp on the table, which illuminated Lucca and her parents in a sort of eerie glow. He noticed Nadia couldn't stop staring at Lucca's mother, especially at her legs – more specifically, at where most people had their legs. Usually Lara wore long dresses to hide that sort of thing, but not here – and with the glow from the lamp, Lara looked like the subject of a ghost story. Her face was gaunt, almost as if the loss of her legs had removed part of her face, too. For some reason, she chose to wear clothing that made her look like a large box with a head, for she always kept her arms close to her side, as if by holding them aloft they would fall off too.

Then, on the other side of the table was Taban, his muscular frame exaggerated by the frailty across from him. Chrono motioned to Nadia, telling her to stop staring. But apparently the girl hadn't seen this kind of thing yet.

"It's just you, Chrono," Taban muttered, sounding both angry and surprised. "How on earth…"

"We'll tell you later," Lucca cut him off. "Okay? I was out, and I wasn't expecting to be back this early. I came with Chrono."

"And his friends," Lara corrected wearily.

"Right."

"But what's this?" Taban turned his eye at Robo. "I've never seen you before."

Robo looked to Lucca. "May I speak?" he asked in his metallic voice - the lights on his "mouth" casting crisp shadows on the wall. Taban visibly backed away. "No, do not be alarmed. I belong to Madam Lucca. She fixed me."

"Yes," Lucca said, suddenly excited. "And I'm sorry I took so long. All right? Now I'm home. Let's talk tomorrow."

"Yes," Taban replied. "We will. Say good night to your friends."

"Just a moment." Lucca jumped up and led the others out the door. "Well, this is interesting," she whispered once they were out. "Today is apparently the day we all went to the future. You know, they day Chrono was supposed to be killed? That's today."

"So?" Nadia remarked.

"So we actually returned three days before we left!"

"I don't see what that – "

"Never mind. Chrono, you be the gentleman and get Nadia home. I'll take Robo – he'll stay here with me. Don't worry, my dad will be fascinated with him. He'll forget that I got in trouble at all."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I don't know what Lucca was thinking," Chrono said when they left. "There's no way we're walking to the castle in the dark."

"I could stay at your place," Nadia offered.

"Hm. No."

She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "Then what – I'm going to just sleep outside somewhere? I don't think so."

"We'll see," Chrono replied smugly. "Come on. It's only a five minute walk." When he reached the front door, he put a finger to his lips. "Mom's usually asleep by this time. Be quiet so she doesn't hear. Oh, and the stairs up to my room squeak unless you walk really close to the wall." He pushed the door open. Or – tried to push the door open. "Um… it's locked. Never mind. Would you believe I don't have a key? I know there's one around here somewhere. Help me look… it should be under one of these stones."

"Chrono?"

"Shh… not so loud. Just look… some of the stones on the path are loose. Usually there's a key under one of them so I can get in…"

"Hello, Chrono?"

"Don't make too much noise. Mom will hear you. Her bedroom is right up there."

"Why don't we just knock? I mean, what do you have to hide?"

_Besides you?_ "Nothing. But I didn't want to be rude."

"Uh-huh." Nadia watched Chrono for a moment, then turned and banged her hand on the door. _Whumph!_

"What was that for?" Chrono whispered.

Nadia didn't have time to answer. Almost immediately, the door swung open – so fast it almost fell off its hinges. And standing there was Liza. Her hair was matted against her face, her clothes sagging as if they hadn't been changed for days. At the sight of Chrono, her eyes grew wide. She took a step back… and then lunged for the boy. "Hello, Mommmpphhh…"

"You… I thought… you were… that you would be…" she panted. Chrono didn't need good light to know his mother had been crying all day. "Five hours ago… they said you were dead. I thought after your father… not you too."

"Mom…" Chrono returned the hug. "I'm… um, sorry."

"They let you go? Just like that…"

"Sure."

"I knew it. Somehow I knew they wouldn't just… I mean, that you would be… that… you… Stop scaring me like that!" She started to laugh in the middle of sobbing, producing a strange choking sound.

"Come on, Mom… let's go in. I'm tired." Chrono led her inside, then motioned for Nadia to join.

"Don't look," Liza mumbled. "The place is a mess since you went on trial."

"I don't mind it at all. Why don't you just go get some sleep."

"Not yet. You're the one who needs sleep."

"Mom – please, not now."

"Go on up… I'll just stay down here."

"No, I'll stay. Sleep." Chrono gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek and gently shoved her toward the staircase. She turned to give him a funny look – and then seemed to notice for the first time that Nadia had been present the whole time.

Liza stared blankly at the girl. "Who are you?"

"Doesn't she look familiar? Marle – the girl from the fair."

Suddenly Chrono's mother didn't look so disheveled. She looked downright suspicious. "What? …Are you just dropping by before you take her home? Again? What's going on?"

"Nothing. Go to sleep, Mom."

"Oh…" She reeled back and put a hand to her mouth. "You weren't pardoned. You weren't let go. You're not my son. You're another ghost – come to taunt me? Get out… go away. You're not real. How could you do this to me?"

"Mom, calm down. It's me." Chrono stepped forward, arms wide. But his mother only shrank back, then ran upstairs. He just looked after her, then turned back to Nadia. "I'll handle this. Tomorrow she should be back to normal. You can have my room. But as soon as the sun comes up you are _out of here_."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was a year and six months. Truce still awoke with the sun. The world was still unaware of its infection, like a human is unaware of his worm as he starves to death. Yet life continued – children going to school, growing older, leaving home. And every day, without fail, the sun rose. And again at night, it set in good faithfulness. Just like it had before, even though the sun would never look the same.

Chrono noticed that it had less color anymore, even though he knew nothing had changed. Days seemed to be darker, though he knew that couldn't be. He just assumed it was a kind of death pall hanging over the world – one that had been there his whole life, he supposed, though he never realized it existed. Sure, life went on, and would – for another thousand years. Then it would end.

Despite that, Chrono felt the most cheerful he had been in his entire life.

He closed his journal and started getting dressed. First he threw on a white undershirt, which had begun to feel tighter each month – in the arms and chest, he bragged. His blue pants and vest were starting to get ragged around the edges, but no one would really notice. For the final touch he wrapped his new orange bandana around his head, keeping the hair out of his face. He went to the wall journal to check himself out. He admitted he didn't mind looking at his reflection anymore, as he looked less like a friendless loser and more like a grown man. Of course he had to flex his muscles once or twice and grin as if he had the world's largest biceps and everyone else knew it. _Nah,_ he admitted. _Not yet._

"Chrono, are you up there?" a woman's voice. Chrono snapped into action – he rolled up his sleeves and ran downstairs.

Elaine. No one else was behind the counter, and the store was empty. "There you are – can you run things for a moment while I deliver these goods to a customer? Just down the block. Fritz is gone running errands for when daddy gets back. I'll be gone a few minutes." She came up and put a hand on Chrono's shoulder.

"Sure thing."

"Good." Elaine stepped back and winked, then skirted out of the store, vanishing into sunlight. Chrono wasn't exactly sure what she saw in him – she was the Guardian ideal: light hair, skin, and eyes, small and fair, hardly sixteen or seventeen or whatever, and so on and so on. Somewhere in her was a personality, he knew, and someday he might actually get a glimpse of it, but for now Elaine relied on her appearance to take care of everything. Chrono liked to think he was immune to that, but in his dreams he knew he really wasn't.

The day was looking to be slow, so Chrono busied himself with the usual cleaning up the store. He pretended to hate the job, but he found it more fun than helping people at the counter. Besides, any loose change he happened to find was his by right. Once a week or so a careless shopper would drop a couple gold pieces, enough to replace the bandana he lost last year. Now he was saving up for a new sword, a real one. He told everyone it was a new hobby.

He had still not found anything when he heard someone enter. On turning to look he recognized Benny, from Guardia. "Oh my… um, I mean, can I help you sir?"

"No, no, I'm here on behalf of the Chancellor and the King." Then Nadia walked in.

"Is she my next prize or something?" Chrono remarked, giving Nadia a comical once-over. She had certainly grown in the last year – in every way. She was no longer a girl, the kind that ran around at fairs and gave young men mild concussions – but a woman, the kind that gave young men vertigo. But she looked far too self-conscious in her dress. Her head was held high, nose in the air, as if hung there to dry. Chrono kept his cool. "It's been what, two months since my last one."

Benny smiled knowingly – or smiled to the best of his ability. It looked more like a friendly scowl. "His majesty bestows upon you this ticket – " he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a paper of purplish color – "which grants you access to the castle."

"In other words…" Chrono began.

"'Please don't tell.'"

"Normally I wouldn't be one to accept bribes but in this case I'll make an exception. What exactly am I not supposed to tell? I was acquitted for heaven's sake."

"You were. Not all the other… people."

"Right. Like Fritz… you never told me what went on with that. You promised me last time."

"Maybe so." Benny crossed his arms. "The Chancellor looks forward to your visit."

"I bet he looks forward to the day I leave Guardia forever." Chrono chuckled to himself as he examined the ticket again. "Good for one time, huh? At least it's free. But it's not as nice as that letter I got last year."

It was then Nadia spoke. "Sir Benjamin, I would like to speak with Mr. Chrono alone for a minute."

Benny nodded and concealed a smile. "Certainly – shall I wait by the door?" He didn't wait for an answer but stepped outside and shut the door.

Suddenly Nadia leapt toward Chrono, her royal attitude gone. Her green eyes turned wild, and Chrono wasn't sure whether to be excited or frightened out of his wits. "What's going on?" she hissed.

"I actually don't know what you're talking about."

"We haven't even _seen_ each other for sixteen months and you spring _this_ on me?"

"Ah, now I think I know where this is going. You know I couldn't see you at all – I mean I just got the ticket. And you know the Chancellor would kill me first chance he got…" Chrono leaned back as Nadia pushed her face closer.

"Not that!" She stepped back and began to pace. "I couldn't get out either. But I heard from Lucca. Through Benny. She said that we're going back!"

"That's right."

"No we're not! I can't. I may not care about being a… princess… but I do care about living!"

"Me too."

"But it's absurd. We're children."

"We're old enough to _have_ children. I'm nineteen now… and Lucca is recently twenty. I say that makes us adults. You're close enough." Chrono paused. "Are you saying we should wait a few years or something?"

"Well we can't go back anyway. I was in Leene Square last month… and I snuck away from my escort for a while… and the gate was gone. It's not there anymore. We can't go back."

"I think Lucca's been working on it. I mean, she had me training the last six months. She was too… see, for a while I had the same thoughts you have. But I had a dream… it wasn't much, just my father setting me on his lap (and I was a little boy) and giving me advice. See, then he turned into that Spekkio creature. I couldn't just forget that, and you know not many other people can do what we can…"

Nadia put a hand to her forehead in resignation. "Okay, you win. To tell the truth, I had a similar dream. But it wasn't about your father. I've been using this magic too – not to train, like you said… it was for fun. You've never seen the looks on suitor's faces when they grip my hand and… well, try it for yourself." She extended her hand to Chrono, who took it immediately.

Just as quickly he pulled his hand back and put it in his mouth. "Ahh! It's like ice!"

"Like that," Nadia giggled.

Chrono gritted his teeth. "Well, I've been training a lot you know, and I have a few tricks too." He rubbed his hands together and pulled out a coin. "Watch." He placed his hands about six inches apart, one above the other, and dropped the coin into the bottom hand. After a moment, he bowed his head and closed his eyes tight, concentrating. In just a few seconds he felt the coin leave his hand – he opened his eyes to see it dangling a few inches in the air between both hands. In excitement, he shouted "Yes!" and the coin dropped to the floor.

"You're just showing off."

"No I'm not."

"That's not even real."

"Yes it is… Lucca said it's 'magnetism,' which is… well, I guess Lucca can tell you herself. She'll be meeting me here later today."

"Hm." Nadia bit her lip. "And I was just getting started."

Just then there was a knock at the door. "Oh! I almost forgot…" she cleared her throat. "Come in, Benjamin."

The man opened the door and poked his head in. "Your highness – Princess, I do not mean to pry, but we cannot remain all day."

Nadia appeared to be thinking for a moment. "Then go on without me. I will take a car back home." Benny leaned in a little, as if he couldn't believe what he heard. "Make up a story or something! Just get out of here!" The man nodded, bowed, and left. Nadia wasted no time and turned back to Chrono, the wild look returning. "What time will Lucca be here?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A half-hour later Nadia came down from upstairs, dressed in more humble clothing (as in, not yet paid for). She wore the green set (to match her eyes, Chrono guessed – women did that kind of thing) and gave Chrono the other sets. "Thank you. I was sick of that dress."

"Why do you wear that anyway?" Nadia ignored the question and wandered behind the counter. "Careful. If Fritz sees you there he'll have a fit… never mind." Chrono went to work putting clothes away.

He had just finished when Elaine returned. "I'm back! I know I said I'd only be gone for a moment, but I started talking with the lady down the street, and then your mother came by and said she wanted you home for dinner and…" her voice trailed off when she saw Nadia. "Who is that?" Chrono's voice stuck in his throat. "Chrono?"

Nadia answered instead. "Hello, my name is Marle." She took Elaine's hand.

"Wow, your hands are cold."

"Yes, I have that problem if I don't wear warm gloves."

Elaine rubbed her hands noticeably on her blouse. "Well we have some if you want them… they're quite cheap."

"No thanks. I didn't bring any money with me. I'm with him." Chrono shot her a look.

"Oh, he never said he'd have a friend in today… but I could swear I've seen you before." Now Nadia gave Chrono a look.

But just in time, Fritz came in the door. He was awkwardly trying to carry a large book, a jar of ink, and some feather pens without dropping anything and still keeping a moderate level of hand coordination. "Here, Chrono, Elaine, help me!" Chrono, thankful for the opportunity, rushed over and took the ink and pens. "Sorry, I had it until I came in… is father back?"

"No," Elaine said, taking the book.

"Then just put his stuff in his room." Finally Fritz noticed Nadia trying to hide behind a case of clothing. "Oh, are you looking for something, ma'am?"

She pointed at Chrono. "I'm with him. Marle."

"Hm… have you been here before? I swear I've seen you here…" Chrono held his breath. "Weren't you here last month for that one red dress? Or was it the cooking set…"

"I can't remember. I don't shop a lot."

Suddenly they heard a call from upstairs. "Fritz! Chrono! Can one of you tell me what this dress is doing here?" Elaine. Chrono and Nadia traded looks as Fritz ran upstairs.

"Here," Chrono whispered. "Why don't you go to Lucca's place right now. This may take a while."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay! It's updated! (Angels break out in Hallelujah Chorus)

If you haven't already noticed, I've made a considerable change here, and I'd like to defend myself because it's one of the only changes I am dead-set on keeping: When I played the game, I wondered why three unexperienced kids who just saw the end of the world and almost got killed several times would be itching to save the world... I mean, that's kind of a hasty decision if you ask me. I think that in giving them time, the characters can grow and mature enough until they just know they are the only ones who can save the world. Besides, it gives them a chance to train their magic skills without having to fight endless amounts of filler battles. Whatever. Don't bother me - my mind is made up.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that you may have lost track of the characters' lives. I skipped a year and a half and gave just about no explanation for anything. I hope that Chrono and Nadia's stories are somewhat obvious from this half of the chapter - at least, I hope what you need to know is obvious. You can make up the rest.

I hope to update before April. Sounds easy, but I'll have like no time come the end of this month all through March. That means that all four of you on the edges of your seats can take a popcorn break. All plot holes will be resolved. Eventually. We authors fill those things with loopholes.


	29. XIII: Heroes Return 2

**Heroes Return**

The next week everyone gathered at Lucca's place – more specifically, in a shed outside of the house. After all, she still wanted her parents' support without them knowing what was going on. So, a few months earlier, she had built this shack which everyone admitted was rather poorly designed but had kept the curious away.

Lucca herself was over in one corner maintaining the fire. Without tools. Nadia and Robo seated themselves at the other end of the shed, on an old sofa. Chrono stood, stroking his new sword from Melchior and examining the Telepod, which filled the center of the room. "I never thought you'd be using _this_ thing again," he mused.

"Would you rather I said some magic words and created another time gate?" Lucca replied without looking up. "Nadia brought the pendant, I hope."

"Yes," came the answer.

"Give it to me, then. Let's get this over with." Lucca stood and approached Nadia, glaring at her clothes. "I thought we were all going to… uh, dress down for this."

"I'm sorry," Nadia said, fingering her bright green blouse. "This was the rattiest thing I had. What do you expect? You're not concerned about taking a robot behind anyway – I don't think anyone will bother with the dress."

"You could have told me so we didn't have to wear these filthy rags." Lucca rubbed her forehead. "Forget it. Pendant." Nadia carefully removed it from around her neck. "Don't worry," Lucca said, reading the princess's expression. "The worst that'll happen is the chain will break." She took the pendant and inserted it into a panel on the side of the Telepod.

"Hey, that's new," Chrono remarked.

Lucca started the machine. "Well, you could wear it around your neck and get fried like last time."

"Besides," Robo butted in, "this way the pendant is sure to accompany us wherever we go." The other three just looked at him. "Miss Lucca said so."

"You still haven't beaten the old manners out of him," Chrono muttered.

"But I am learning," Robo stood. "Miss Lucca says that in within another year I should be cursing like 'the rest of them' – you look surprised. See, I am learning to read facial expressions as well."

"Tell me again why we're bringing him along."

"I follow Miss Lucca wherever she goes."

"And," Lucca interjected, "he's a walking dictionary, man-at-arms, and housewife… all in one." She bent over as if inspecting something very small. "It should be working now. Everybody in... we're going to make history."

"Provided we go back in time and not forward," Robo added.

"We will."

"Wait!" Nadia almost screeched. "Aren't you going to put out the fire?"

For a minute there was no reply. Lucca stroked her chin for a moment before speaking.

"No."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono had almost forgotten the rush of time traveling – the way he felt like going five hundred miles an hour without moving at all. But he didn't have much time to appreciate the thrill. Almost before the portal closed again, he felt himself thrown to the ground by someone heavy. He and the other man rolled over a few times, down a hill, before hitting the side of a very solid tree. Fortunately for him there was no real injury. After shaking his head a few times, he noticed the "man" who had tackled him was actually a large, turtle-like creature wearing shiny blue armor.

_Mystic!_ Chrono jumped back and whipped out his sword. It's ring echoed in a mild breeze, as if to say "prepare, for I have come for a visit to your heart!" At least, that's what Chrono thought it said. The mystic probably heard something more like _Shwing!_ And it didn't look impressed with the bright red color, either.

With a primal yell, Chrono thrust himself at the creature. In all his dreams he imagined mystics freezing in terror, opening their bodies wide to his sword. This one wasn't so. Apparently it counted on its 300-pound frame and body armor to provide all the protection it could possibly need. Not only that, but it didn't even appear to register the crazed red-headed boy's anger at all. It neatly side stepped the thrust and with a _thunk!_ Chrono's sword rested about six inches in the tree trunk.

The creature used this time to bring its arms down with full force on the boy's back. Chrono dropped to the earth, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the turtle easily slip the sword out of the tree.

But in doing so, the creature ignored Chrono long enough for the boy to reach out weakly and touch its coated armor. For a moment the turtle remained expressionless – then it began to shudder. Its grip tightened on the sword for a moment, and Chrono got a good look at the yellow sparks dancing off the reddish hilt. Who needed a sword when one's own body was a weapon?

Moments later the creature had fallen to the ground, never to rise again. Chrono took the sword from its hand – he could feel the lifelessness. For just an instant, he lingered to look at the body, then rushed back to the top of the forested hill.

The others were there, looking a bit tired but otherwise normal. The explanation lay at their feet: three mystic imps whose last sight had been a gigantic log falling on their heads. Robo still held the log. "I do what I must to protect you," he apologized.

"Okay…" Lucca tried to appear in-control. "So, where… I mean, when exactly are we? If this place is where my house used to be… will be once this grove is gone… then this is Truce. So what's with the mystics?"

"Why shouldn't they be here again?" Nadia asked, doing her best not to stare at the dead bodies and their wide eyes.

"Last time we came, in the year 600, there were no mystics – they shouldn't be here. Didn't you study history?" Everyone nodded, but Lucca took no notice. "After the Queen was rescued, Guardia went on the offensive and drove the mystics out of the south. This should be the lull…"

"Well maybe they missed a few."

"Robo!" Lucca barked. "Can you tell me what year it is?"

"No, ma'am. That is impossible to determine with no sources. If we wait until night I can possibly map our position with the stars - "

They were interrupted by a rustling in the bushes. Chrono readied his sword again. Robo picked up another log.

But these new creatures weren't mystics. These new humans were just as surprised as Chrono. They were covered in leather, though the air was warm and a little moist. Armor, he realized… though he figured leather wouldn't stop much more than small rocks and such. Only two men came through the brush – one who was hardly more than a child, perhaps younger than Chrono – and one tall, dark, bearded man. The second one had the face of a leader and the poise of a drunkard.

"What in – " he started to say, then switched tactics. "I mean…" he cleared his throat. "What be kids like you doin' out here?" He never gave any time to answer, but leapt up to the girls. "Women folk were instructed to take flight a week past. Boy!" Now he was shouting to the other leather-clad man. "Take these women and this… man… to the lodge and keep them there! This be no place for children."

"Certainly, Toma."

"And where shall I go?" Robo asked. Toma and the boy stopped in their tracks. "I have promised not to leave Miss Lucca's side."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fifteen minutes later everyone was seated comfortably in the lodge, or, in Chrono's words, a filthy log cabin. There was only one other person in the room – a doorman – and while he looked friendly enough, he also wasn't going to be letting anyone leave anytime soon. Everyone took a seat on either of the two beds. The beds were hard.

"I think I figured it out," Lucca said after a few minutes.

"Yeah, I was beginning to get the same impression," Chrono added.

"We _did_ go to the wrong time period."

"But not very wrong."

"Pardon?" Nadia furrowed her brow, as if on the verge of understanding. She relaxed her face after a moment, apparently too tired of thinking.

"Please enlighten me." Robo bowed slightly. "I have studied history as you said, but I am still learning. I do not remember what I was supposed to know."

Lucca stood. "Last time we were here, it was the year 600 – exactly. Queen Leene was kidnapped according to history, she was rescued somewhat according to history, and the humans pushed the mystics out of Guardia. For the next year or so the war dwindled to a skirmish. No one knew what the mystics wanted, whether they were defeated. They seemed to give up – until about 602, when they returned in force. They all but destroyed the southern cities of Guardia and made their push to the north – where we are. But there was only one sure route to Truce and the Castle."

"Right…" Nadia looked bored. "That part I remember. Why is this important?"

Robo simply asked "what route?"

Lucca chose to answer Robo. "Zenan bridge. That's what the humans expected. But… in the first few months of 603, mystics began appearing by boat in Truce. That's here – now. We're almost to the end of the war."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Now Nadia was frustrated.

"No," Chrono cut in. "Once the war was over, the mystic general disappeared forever."

The pieces were coming together for Nadia. "Magus… who supposedly created Lavos."

"I'm sorry, but that is impossible," Robo objected. "From what you say, Lavos is a supremely powerful being – how could a mere man create such a thing?"

"That is true… we don't know if Magus really was the creator." Lucca sat down again. "But this is the first time Lavos shows up in history. Something happened… we have time to find out."

"Not much," Chrono added.

"And besides, now I'd believe anything."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ten minutes later Toma returned with the young boy. "The others have agreed that you are too stupid to be spies. You are free to go, though the ladies may need protection." He leered at the girls. Nadia and Lucca tried to smile.

"We're not going anywhere." Chrono stood, prepared to use his only round of ammunition. "We're here to fight. Surely you recognize Sir Chrono when you see him."

Toma did not appear impressed. _And that was my best hand, too._ "Oh, right, sir. Your carriage is waiting." The man bowed and gestured to the door. Suddenly he perked up and grasped Chrono's wrist. "There are going to be some dead mystics in here by the end of tonight. If this house still stands. I'm taking the ladies," he hissed.

"And I say," Chrono swiped Toma's hand away, "they can handle themselves."

"This be your first war? You take care of it. See that these ladies arrive at the canyon in safety. And take your... thing, too."

Robo took his cue. "No hurry. I would follow – "

"Shut up." Lucca stepped close to Toma, until their noses almost touched. (Toma had to look up a bit.) "We're not leaving. You'll have to force us out."

"We're here to help." Nadia tried to intercede. "Honestly."

Toma looked from one girl to the other, then back again. "Fine," he grumbled, raising a hand. "Such waste of flesh."

Lucca looked about ready to fry the man when another leather clad boy burst in. "Get the spears! The devils are at the door!" Suddenly all the arguing really didn't matter. Toma and the other men hurried out, leaving Chrono, Robo, and the girls.

"What's going on here, Lucca?" Chrono grasped his sword.

"My guess? My house is the site of an old traveler's lodge. Explorers and trappers would stay here. They were just lucky enough to get caught here when… you know. But the worst part comes later."

"Zenan bridge."

"Right."

"You sure dropped us at a great time, Lucca."

"Yes, I'm quite talented that way."

Chrono pulled his sword out again. "Let's go down."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To Chrono's relief, the "devils" downstairs were small in both number and stature. And so far the resident explorers and trappers were holding their own pretty well. At least, as far as he could see, there were no human bodies littering the floor.

Brandishing his sword, Chrono jumped into the fray. Immediately he realized he'd lost track of the enemy. From above, on the stairs, he could easily see the force of the opposition and its weak points and such. In the split second before jumping, Chrono had devised a surefire method of driving back every last mystic scum and saving the day. Now he couldn't remember his own name, let alone what to do with his sword. The only thought now was to charge anything that didn't look human.

The first imp he saw would get a taste of metal – that's what Chrono thought to himself. However, it wasn't until the third one until he scored a hit. The other two were deceptively fast and scurried away before their heads were cleaved right open. Chrono never experienced any fancy moves from his wooden training dummies, so what could he expect? The third one, though, took a blow to the arm – with the flat of the blade, Chrono noted with frustration. _Cleaner than a pulsing, bloody wound._ The imp fell to the floor – probably never to get up again. He hoped.

Next thing he knew he was hit in the back, and he sprawled to the floor. But this was one part of training easily replicated. Fast as lightning, Chrono was on his feet and facing the enemy – a goblinesque purple-winged creature. Its pathetic frame almost made Chrono smirk. The only reason the skinny goblin could do any damage was the four foot club in its left hand. The four foot club with a six inch nail coming out of the end – a nail bright red with blood. Chrono could only hope it wasn't his blood (though he realized later he'd have been dead already if it was).

That was his only hesitation. Without a second glance, he thrust his sword out, straight into the belly of the gargoyle. Unthinking. Just like in training. But unlike in training, this opponent gasped, dropped the weapon, and looked at him wide-eyed. Its beak opened part way as if to cry out or say something, but it just stared at the sword – opened-mouthed, silent. Even though the battle around Chrono raged at high volume, he managed to hear the soft squish of his sword piercing through the enemy's back. It was the same sound he heard when slicing melons at home, only this melon had a thicker, darker juice. The goblin looked just as disgusted as he did to see the blood. His sword was painted black with it. Slowly the goblin fell back, and Chrono could feel the pressure on his sword as the mystic slid away, until the blade reappeared. The force almost knocked him back as the sword freed itself of its burden.

The battle returned to Chrono – a rush of sound and fury. He couldn't remember anything else he did, and the only part he remembered he found himself trying to forget. But before he knew it, the battle was finished. The mystics had apparently fled. No winner, no loser, just dead bodies on the ground.

It took a moment for Chrono to realize he was still alive. He began touching himself all over, just to make sure he still had all the important body parts. His hands came back bloody after touching his left shoulder. He forced himself to look, bracing himself for a writhing mass of tissue.

But it was just a scratch. A blow that got just a little too close and drew blood. No worse than falling down the stairs at home. Or getting scratched by the cat. It was more annoying than painful, though Chrono considered it his first omen.

A moment later he realized Lucca was in his face. How long she had been there, he couldn't say. But she looked angry. Or intimidated. Or scared. Or jealous. Chrono didn't care.

"Hello! Toma's taking all the wounded upstairs with Nadia, and Robo. He saved you, you know. Are you coming or are you just going to sit here?"

"What? Oh." Chrono scratched his head. "Sorry. Be right there."

Lucca started up the stairs, but before she disappeared at the top, she shouted "you can leave your sword down there until you clean it. It's just plain nasty. Chrono took one last look. The tip was crusty and black, and reeked of stomach acid and digested remains. He dropped the weapon without a moment's hesitation.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

His first thought when entering the "sick room" upstairs was that there weren't a whole lot of wounded people. There was a lot of blood – on the beds especially. But only two or three of the men had any marks whatsoever. Then he noticed that everyone was staring at Nadia.

At the moment, she was leaning over one of the younger boys. The boy had a deep gash running the length of his left arm. Chrono watched as Nadia rubbed her hands together, catching the sweat and keeping it from dripping on the wounded man. She then took her hands and held them over the wound, one at each end. Her hands were two feet apart. Slowly, she moved her right toward her left, as if tracing the gash – and as her fingers waved over the wounded area, the gash closed. Chrono blinked a few times. He felt he was watching a reverse attack. A few second later Nadia had finished, and she stood up to reveal a perfectly healthy young boy, who lay staring at her as if she were deity.

She moved on to the next wounded man, apparently without much thought. Like before, she closed the man's wounds – without ever touching him or saying a word – as if sewing with invisible thread. It took only a few minutes for her to finish with all the wounded. Then she made a beeline for Chrono. Everyone parted to make way for her, and they watched as she whispered.

"Chrono. You're still here. I thought I might have to do you too."

"No," Chrono whispered back. "Not a scratch." _Liar_.

"I don't know what's going on. What's happening to me…"

"What do you mean?" _Tell her._

"I never knew I could do… but… I saw the… and I just wanted it to… go away. So I did. Now I feel like I need to sleep. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Fine." _Liar. Tell her. What, you think she won't help you because… you're her friend?_

"I just can't believe any of this. I can't believe I listened to Lucca… things will only get worse from here…"

"Then just lie down for a while." Chrono signaled to an empty (and clean) bed. Nadia turned to go, but he stopped her. "Wait. There is one thing. You were asking if I was hurt… I did get a little… um, wound." He rolled up his sleeve to show the scratch.

Nadia gave it a once-over. "Deal with it." She flopped into the bed, instantly asleep.

It was then Chrono noticed Robo – sitting on a chair at the foot of Nadia's bed. He must have been there since the end of the battle. By all appearances he hadn't moved. He just sat there, completely still, looking aware but not conscious.

"I had forgotten," he said – his voice monotone.

Chrono took the bait. "What."

Robo turned to stare at him, blue "eyes" hollow. Were they hollow all the time, or just now? "I am a killer."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Amazing! An update before March! I figured if I really worked at it, I could get this in before I fly to Boston for a week.

Anyway, please please please let me know what you think - especially on the parts of the story different from the original. I promise I put these in for a reason, but it's still nerve-racking for me to update. It's easier for the other segments, like the Yakra battle or the Escape from Jail, where I'm at least tweaking what was originally in the script. This chapter is all new, and if you want a detailed explanation, I might comply. But I won't know if you don't put two cents in.

The basic explanation is that this half of the chapter is a prelude to the battle of Zenan bridge. I just changed the timeline so that the war could have semblance of strategy - something you never get in the game. I wanted to have moves and counter-moves from both sides so the stakes were high. Plus, I can't believe the bridge would be the only attack point. It's like chess - you never attack with just one piece (unless you want to lose). Works in the game, not in the story...

So let me know if these changes are believable, for one. Or if you're angry because I defiled the script or something. It's good to know who's on my side (because I am insecure).

Next update should be soon (within 1 year). Not sure if it will actually get up to the battle at the bridge, but it will get close.


	30. XIV: The Battle of Zenan Bridge

**Chapter XIV: The Battle of Zenan Bridge**

"Eminence."

The general looked up from his charts to acknowledge the messenger. He rubbed his bald head. There wasn't much time before the offensive. Besides, he knew what was going to be said. "Quickly, then."

"Our scouts have returned."

"And?"

"Nothing."

"Fool. They have to be there. What did the 'scouts' say again?" He was offering the messenger another chance. He always gave everyone a second chance to redeem themselves.

"Er… they did see something. But no army. Certainly no forces on the other side of the bridge. Only a few small groups of hunters or explorers in the wilderness."

"Are the scouts blind? This is too easy." His ears pricked until they almost pointed straight out the side of his head. A sure sign to the messenger that the general had another plan.

"Agreed. Shall I try again?"

"No, no. Round up all the commanders. I require a stray."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A bump jarred Chrono from sleep. "Where are we now, Mom?" he mumbled.

"About three miles from Zenan Bridge." It was Robo. Now Chrono remembered where he was – or rather, _when_ he was.

He wasn't sleepy anymore. "Zenan? But isn't that where there's going to be…" he trailed off after getting a blank stare from Toma. Never mind that right now. He woke Lucca, who had been sleeping with her head on his shoulder. "We're three miles from the bridge."

"Did we win?" were her first words.

"Win?" Toma asked dubiously. "What in – "

"Sorry. It was… um… a dream."

Chrono looked at the explorer. "Why are we going to the bridge?"

"Why not? Those devils have pushed too far, and now Truce will have its vengeance."

"So why are we going to watch?" Lucca muttered to herself.

Toma overheard. "Watch? Hardly. I shall not miss a day of fighting from here on. Guardia can count me as ten more soldiers! Ha!"

A sudden gasp from Nadia stopped everyone short. Up until now she had been dreaming away across from Chrono.

"Nightmare?" Lucca offered.

"Where are we?" She groaned. The reply came in unison. Nadia frowned. "I thought we were going to the castle."

Toma grinned. "You are. Soon as I get off the carriage."

Just then the ride slowed to a halt. "What's going on?" Nadia asked. From fear or frustration, Chrono didn't know. "Why are we stopped?"

To answer a question, a short man appeared by the carriage window. Or, more accurately, appeared _below_ the carriage window. Nadia had to strain to see him from where she sat. "My apologies, friends, but no one is allowed passage from here."

"Yes, I know!" Toma shouted down to the man. _Just because he's short doesn't mean he's deaf._ "That's why I am here!" He opened the carriage door, almost decapitating the man outside. "Do you have a sword to spare?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lucca made sure that there was no confusion once they reached the castle. "We're here for one thing, and one thing only. We just need to know where Magus is hiding out now." She directed the other three out of the carriage as she spoke (as if they couldn't find the door). "If I'm right – well, anyway, this is the eve of battle, so Magus should be holed up in his lair. We only have a short amount of time before he disappears forever."

Nadia grumbled. "If we know where he is, then why are we here trying to find out where he is."

"According to the history books, no one ever lived to tell where Magus had hidden." Robo's eyes brightened as he spoke. The first time his eyes had lit at all since the day before.

Lucca picked up the thought. "Right. I need a map so we can chart a course. We're not _that_ pressed for time. There's still, what, two weeks to go before he disappears?"

"Two weeks!" Nadia's eyes flashed. "Are you crazy?"

Chrono held up his hands as if keeping the women at bay. "Relax. Just because nobody found him doesn't mean he couldn't be found… Lucca? Please?" He shrugged and pulled out some gold coins with which to pay the carriage driver.

"That's correct. From what we know from the future – our present – we can find out just where Magus resides, but we need to see a map to find it. The wizard's lair is on an uncharted island, and if I can get all the coordinates lined up with the ancient map, we'll be on our way. Plus, we might be stalled just long enough to miss the battle and get free passage to the south."

By this point they had made their way to the castle door. There were two guards stationed outside the door. Both were completely armored and armed with six-foot long spears. _Funny_, Chrono thought. _They usually stand inside. Perhaps because of the war?_ One look at Lucca's face, though, and Chrono knew that wasn't the answer.

"Who goes there?" _How many times a day do they have to say that stupid line?_

Chrono stepped forward. _Here goes…_ "I am Sir Chrono."

"Sir who?"

"Sir what?"

The two guards pointed their spears at the boy. "No, honest, I am. The Sir Chrono who... um... just let me speak to the King – " he was cut off by a spear pressed up to his neck. "Please?"

"No one goes in." It was then Chrono noticed that the spear up against his neck was no stone spear. The tip was metal. And if he wasn't mistaken, the handle was metal, too – and of course the guards were covered with the stuff. He shot a look to the others. A _hey, check this out_ look. Suddenly one guard jerked back and fell into the castle wall, his spear point still hovering in front of the boy's neck. Chrono let it fall. The other guard jumped in alarm and seemed ready to charge. "I s-s-said no one enters. Dare not try your sorcery on me!"

"Hey! Your friend is fine. He's just a little shocked is all." Chrono almost smiled at his own pun. "Now you can let us in or I'll make your eyeballs bleed." Lucca shot him a look. _That might have been a little much – he's not buying it._

But it didn't really matter. At that moment the grand, red doors opened to reveal none other than Queen Leene. Chrono almost gasped in shock. He'd forgotten just how much she and Nadia looked alike, aside from their age difference. In fact, they were even wearing the same color green. No wonder they'd been mistaken for each other. But stranger still was the shock registered on Leene's face. "Sir Chrono?" She said the name as if she'd been waiting to say it her whole life. "I saw you from the bedchamber. I dreamed you would come." She fingered her necklace. Or was it – Chrono looked closer – a pendant. Similar to the one Nadia now fingered nervously. Very similar.

The Queen hesitated a moment before speaking again. "You must come with me."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She led them through the empty throne room and up what seemed an endless number of stairs until she reached the bedchamber. It seemed grander – yet more somber – than Chrono remembered from his last visit. Then again, he may not be in the same room he had been. Plus, this one had sunlight streaming in through the stained windows, making everything appear living, even the stones.

Everything, that is, except the king. He lay face up in the bed, surrounded by maids and, of all people, the cook. _Right_, Chrono thought. _We were just lucky enough to arrive now_.

"They are here." Leene stood by the door, framed by the strange visitors. Everyone just gaped at them, as if they were seeing their long-lost brothers and sisters. "Just as I told you."

"Wait a minute," Nadia began. "You knew we were coming?"

"I told you I had dreamed. In my dream, I saw my husband on the verge of death. And I saw the four of you. You cannot imagine how hard it was to believe, but you all came precisely when I dreamed you would, even you – " she looked to Robo – "though I had never known you before. Strange armor you wear."

"This was a mistake," Lucca muttered to Chrono. "I forgot about the poisoning of the king."

Nadia appeared to be fighting back tears. "How soon until he gets better?" Everyone just stared blankly at her, obviously trying to hide back anger at the thoughtless comment. Everyone, that is, but Lucca and Chrono. They just glared incredulously at her. "I mean, is he going to be well?"

"I have prayed every day for healing." Leene moved to the bed and knelt beside the form of her husband. The king had not stirred or spoken since their entry. "And then I have prayed for strength from heaven. I thought all hope was lost until you arrived." At those last words, Chrono and the others visibly reacted – even Robo. This was not what was supposed to happen. "Please, leave us," the queen continued. "All except for you," she added, motioning to Chrono and his friends.

Slowly the maids filed out. "My Queen," came a voice from the bed. It was the cook. "May I remain? The King has yet to finish his meal." Leene nodded gracefully to him. With a smile the cook returned to the bed. He had a tray beside him which carried a large bowl of soup, some of which he was trying to coax down the king's throat. A near impossible task, considering he couldn't coax the king's mouth open.

Leene ignored that and instead focused on her new guests. At least, Chrono thought so, for while she talked to them, she never took her eyes off her husband. "I know he will walk today."

There was a profound silence as Chrono realized that _he_ must be the reason the King would walk. He looked at his friends. They seemed to be having similar profound silences. "How is this possible?" Robo stepped forward to address the Queen, though he did take a glance Nadia's direction. _Good,_ Chrono thought. _At least he remembers our need for secrecy. _"We are mere mortals like you." At that, Lucca pretended to clear her throat.

"What he means to say is…" she paused, thinking – tapping her foot to break the silence. "I guess he's asking what makes _us_ so special. We aren't doctors. We don't know the first thing about medicine." Now everyone pretended to clear their throats. "Well, we don't know much at all."

Leene remained unmoved. "I do not trust in medicine."

"Whatever. Your majesty, if you will allow us a moment, we must get to your library. It's urgent. We'll be back to say your magic words later." Lucca tried to make the last part sound like a joke, but it fell flat and left everyone with an awkward expression.

The queen appeared not to have heard Lucca at all, though she responded, sounding somewhat hurt. "Go, then. I will wait." Lucca dashed out the doorway immediately. Robo was a little further behind because he first bowed to the queen before leaving. Chrono backed to the exit slowly, motioning for Nadia to follow. But the girl stayed put. Chrono motioned again, a little more strongly, but Nadia didn't budge. Or, unless he was imagining it, she was moving _closer_ to the king. _No… please. Don't do this. This isn't right._ Chrono hesitated for a moment. Why wasn't it right? If he remembered correctly, the king _did_ recover from his wounds – right around the time of the battle at Zenan. Which was now.

He shook his head, wondering why he had even slightly resisted the impulse to help. With a strange grin, he approached the bed where the king lay. He bowed his head a little – _is this how to do it? How do I fix it? How did Nadia do it at the lodge? Something's not right here… what was it… maybe I'm just nervous. I never healed anyone back at home. Do I just concentrate? _Chrono held his hands inches above the blanket. He knew that just under that blanket the king's body was fighting some disease. What was it Lucca had said? A rumor that it was poison in the king's body? Either way, there was something there, Chrono knew. He focused with all his might, imagining tiny mystics running rampant in a dying stomach. He imagined those tiny mystics suddenly keeling over, being crushed by the might of… some kind of healing power. A blue flame. Yes! A blue flame. And as those little mystics died, the stomach was healed, a wound played in reverse. Chrono opened his eyes to look at the king. The body did not move. The rise and fall of the king's chest had not changed at all and the king still wore a dazed expression. Chrono furrowed his brow. Perhaps the healing wasn't supposed to work right away.

He was about to try again when he noticed the look on Nadia's face. She was trying to suppress a laugh, while at the same time, seemed almost proud of him for trying. Leene, however, just cocked her head and stared. She was apparently not prepared for this kind of show. Neither was the cook. He had stopped feeding his master and instead gave Chrono a blank stare, holding a ladle of soup perfectly still, inches from the king's face. Chrono just shrugged. _I tried, then._

But it wasn't done yet. Chrono could tell. Maybe he _had_ healed the king. Imagine… still, the king never gave the slightest hint of wellness. Now Nadia approached the bed, from the other side. Chrono watched her intently. _What does she do that I do not?_ The girl bent over the man's body and stared at it. Chrono frowned. What on earth was this? It looked like she was trying to see _into_ the body. She stared at one point, then another, then another. If Chrono didn't know better, he'd say she was watching a flea jumping across the golden bedspread.

Then she stopped watching and held her hands over the body. _Not much different from me. Hmm._ She never closed her eyes, though. And, if Chrono wasn't mistaken, she was beginning to cry. _Women_. However, Chrono had the feeling these were a different sort of tears.

A moment later Nadia stood erect, her hands at her sides, her eyes dry. _Is that it?_ The king still hadn't moved. Oh well – they had tried. The magic just wasn't flowing or something. Or maybe they just hadn't trained long enough.

Chrono was distracted by a small cough. He looked to Nadia. She appeared innocent enough, and now stared intensely at the king's face. Chrono looked again – it was exactly where he had left it. The rigid face showed almost no sign of life, and the eyes had grayed and stared at nothing. What was going on?

He was about to turn away and follow Lucca out when he heard the cough again. This time he heard it come from the king's own mouth. Then there came another cough. And the bedspread began to rise and fall more quickly than before, as the breaths came harder and faster.

Suddenly the king shot up to sitting position, his eyes dark and wide. He clenched his fists up toward his neck, and then fell over toward Nadia's side of the bed. She jumped back and ran around to Chrono. The king's head drooped over the frame, and from there he could hear the sounds of grunting and groaning, and finally a long splashing sound. Whatever was in the good king's stomach was in there no longer.

Leene rushed to her husband and took his head in her arms. She didn't touch his face or kiss him, though. _Understandable enough, considering he smells like a pit._ Instead she shouted "Praise God! You have returned to us!" She then proceeded to explain everything that had happened since the king had been bedridden – everything including her dream, Chrono's arrival, the healing, and, of course, the war status. Of course, she said it all so fast that the king probably didn't understand a word of it, but his face began to register emotion. An emotion that read may things, such as "what have I missed?" "Where am I?" and, of course, "who did this to me?"

He pried his wife's fingers from his face and held her hands tightly. "How long has it been since the people have been without a leader? Too long. I'm not going to let those devils succeed in killing me next time. We'll kill every last one of them first." His breath was beginning to get loud and raspy, coming in short bursts. He then looked at the cook, who stared wide-eyed at him. "Good Rowan, I'll have you rewarded for your faithfulness."

"Sir," Rowan blurted – almost shouted. "Sire… I mean. If I may suggest the manner of my reward."

"Name it."

"I wish to fight by my brother's side. Until every last mystic has eaten a sword. You know this has been my only request since my failing eyesight stripped me of my armor. Let me go out fighting. Even if I slay every last devil, it will not atone for my failure in seeing you suffer." The cook dropped to one knee.

The king looked at his servant in surprise… but nodded his head. "If all your Queen says is true, I will need every man strong enough to lift a sword. Your request is granted, as a tribute to your loyalty. Go." Rowan stood and rushed out (but not before giving an extremely quick, but reverent, bow). The king watched him go for a moment before turning back to his wife. "Well, get me out of this bed. If it is in my dying breath even, I will save this kingdom. Don't stand there all day."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What was that?" Chrono asked as soon as he and Nadia had cleared the room. "I mean, how are you doing that?"

Nadia seemed just as shocked as he. "I… I really don't know. When I was there, I just had this feeling. I felt so sorry for… and I just knew that I could do something. I could see into his body and all the things that needed… fixing."

"You realize we've just made history now. Perhaps in the history books they'll talk about some strange girl coming in to heal the King on the eve of battle. It'll make for a great story." Even as he said it, Chrono had a sinking feeling that something was just not right.

But he didn't get much time to think about it before Lucca and Robo spotted them. "Ha, thought you'd lost us for a moment, did you." Lucca handed Chrono a rolled up parchment. "Well, we had to find the maps all by ourselves, no thanks. What did _you_ do while we were gone?"

As if to answer her question, the bedchamber door opened, and out came the king. He was supported on both sides by Rowan and Leene. Despite not having the energy to stand, he appeared healthier than ever. In fact, if Chrono wasn't mistaken, the gray tint in the king's hair had completely vanished since Nadia had worked her miracle.

They all watched silently as the king passed. Then, one by one, they looked at Nadia. Lucca was having a hard time masking frustration on her face. "Nadia… you didn't. Tell me, please."

"What?" The girl tried to sound calm and unaffected despite a slight tremor in her voice.

"You healed the king of Guardia. You actually did it."

"Of course. What was I supposed to do?"

"_Not_ heal the king!"

"Excuse me?" Now the tremor was gone, and Nadia's voice carried an edge. "That king is supposed to go out and win this war! It said so in all the history books that he was responsible for the victory and that he was eventually healed from his sickness. Of course I would do that. It was supposed to be done!"

"Not yet."

"Pardon?"

Now Lucca's voice had a tremble. "The king was healed, but not miraculously. And not _before_ the battle at Zenan. You spend too much time on names and dates, Nadia. History is about the _why_. Tell me, why did the Guardians win the battle at Zenan?" She gave no time for a reply. "Because they were inspired to fight for their king on his deathbed, rumored to have been poisoned by mystics. Their passion to avenge the king led them to victory."

Nadia opened her mouth to respond, but no words came. Chrono stepped in for her. "Perhaps the people will fight harder with the king in good health. Remember this isn't the final battle anyway…"

"Correct," Robo interrupted. "But Miss Lucca is not referring to the final battle. I do believe our goal was only to get to the dark wizard, Magus. We were not to do anything else. Why? Because any action we perform in the past may well affect the future. Even the smallest act can change the names of countries and cities, and change the outcomes of all future wars. In fact, merely the route we took here may have affected all our futures." The others just looked at him.

"What he means," Lucca added, "is that by healing the king – a _major_ intervention, by the way – we may have completely changed the outcome of this battle. This is the most important battle of the Mystic war. It's the victory here that allowed… or allows… the Guardian army to go on the offensive – plus the disappearance of the wizard Magus. And who knows what the wizard will do if the outcome of Zenan is different." She paused for a moment to catch her breath. Her face was beginning to turn red.

Chrono took the opportunity to speak. "And all this means what?" He knew that Lucca was right. But still, there had to be a way out, right? "Is there a way to change history again… back to the way it should be?"

"There may be one way I know of," Robo interjected. "As of now, the only people who know of the king's recovery are in this building. If we can get to the battlefront quickly, before any messengers can arrive, we may be able to stall the news just long enough to leave the result of the battle unchanged. After all, you have not invented long-distance communication devices, and I realized – "

Lucca held up a hand. "Yeah, we know. Let's just go. If you're right, we don't have any time to spare." She stared the other three down a few seconds before turning on her heels and running for the door. Her friends weren't far behind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Eminence."

The general looked up from his charts again. This time it was The Priest. The general grunted. It was no secret he despised Ozzie. He despised the way The Priest monopolized on his religious war. He despised the creature's slime and flattery. He even despised Ozzie's cold green flesh and fat, round body. Good thing The Priest thought to cover himself in a huge, off-white tunic. Too bad his face still showed. A monstrous frog-like face. Only the eyes betrayed any hint of deviousness, let alone intelligent thought. That and the ears – no real frog had such pointy ears. The general rubbed his own ears at the thought… their only similarity.

"You may enter," the general said, although Ozzie had already taken the liberty of entering. He was The Priest, after all. He talked with Lavos. He knew Lavos. He would call down fire from Lavos on anyone who forbade him to enter. "You have a prisoner?"

"The perfect one, _eminence._" Ozzie spoke mockingly – a perfect tone for his already whiny voice. The general almost chuckled. Every time the thing spoke it reminded him of a duck being strangled. "He is just outside." The Priest motioned to someone just outside the general's vision. "Come in, you sewer rat."

The prisoner was just another imp. They were the usual prisoners, as they were the easiest to contain. No magical powers. Hardly any strength. No brains. Sheer numbers. This one was blue, almost like the general. His hands were bound behind his back with some kind of cord. "Release him, please."

Ozzie clasped his hands together, as if praying. The general just rolled his eyes. He knew Ozzie had the power to unbind those cords without the showmanship. But The Priest loved to strike fear into weak hearts – something the general knew was foolish. How will a frightened little mouse fight to the death for you? Why will he? Just then Ozzie pulled his hands apart, and the cords around the imp's hands unwound themselves and flew toward The Priest's froggish hands. The general almost gagged.

He forced himself to continue. "Do you know why you are here?" No reply. "Speak. I am your superior. I command you to speak."

The reply was slow in coming. "I… I stole jewels from the company commander."

"You know the punishment."

"Death by… dismemberment."

"Correct." The general let the thought sink in before continuing. "But I will remove your punishment, on one condition." The imp looked up at him, eyes wide. "Yes, you have a second chance. I always give my prisoners a second chance."

He took a deep breath and waited. Finally the imp nodded slightly. Good, the answer was yes. Never had a prisoner answered no before. No prisoners were complete fools. There were lots of better deaths than dismemberment.

"I have a task for you."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Quick one this time. Just a reminder to R&R - which by the way, does NOT stand for Rescue and Resuscitate. However you spell that. I just want the little number after "Reviews" to be a big number so I can feel important.

AND I want to know what you alls think. I know that someone out there, or some people, are reading this, so it's not like this is the ghost thread or something. And I don't require a vastly intelligent discussion. What do you like, what do you not like? (The latter is sometimes more helpful...)

I hope to update again soon. Yes, all these changes ARE going somewhere.


	31. XIV: The Battle of Zenan Bridge 2

**The Battle of Zenan Bridge**

"I still don't see what's the huge hurry." Chrono rubbed his forehead. Lucca's yelling had finally started to take its toll. "I mean, even if a messenger gets there before us, we can still figure out a way to make things better. We won't be destroying the earth, right?"

"I hope not," was Lucca's reply – thankfully, a soft reply. Her vocal chords must have started to wear out, especially after shouting the poor carriage driver out of his mind.

"Perhaps everything will cancel itself out until history reverts to normal." Robo piped up. "As I read in some of Miss Lucca's books, there is a theory about time travel that states that if the change made to history is small enough, the immediate effects may be noticeable, but eventually history returns to its original course. The larger the change, the longer it takes for time to correct itself. This explains why your first trip to this period left virtually no changes in the history books, and – "

"Stop. Please." Lucca shook her head. "We get it. But this is no small change. This is the outcome of a war. Which decides the living arrangements of two peoples for the next 400 years. That's pretty big."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Their argument didn't last much longer. For the rest of the trip they had sat in silence, each wondering how the blunder at the castle had succeeded in destroying the human race. That was the primary thought as they ran up the hill now toward the general's tent.

Except it wasn't a tent. It was a log cabin.

The general stepped out to greet the newcomers, smiling at first – until he saw the women. Then his smile turned to a scowl. A scowl which pulled at a fresh scar along his cheek. "What is this? Surely you don't expect me to give a woman a sword!"

"Sir!" It was the carriage driver, who had followed them up. "They have but one message," he panted before tipping his hat to Lucca. She flipped him an extra coin.

"Speak, then."

Chrono sank to one knee. "Sir, sire, sir, we… er," he looked up to see a curious expression on the general's face. As if he were trying not to break out laughing. Chrono stood. "We bring word from the King… himself." _Easy, just say what you planned to say._ "He has been poisoned by the enemy, and he requests you give no mercy in destroying the enemy." There, he'd said it.

But the general didn't show any sign of listening. After a long silence, he spoke, his voice deep. "Come, let me show you my quarters." He swept his arm in a long arc, indicating the cabin door. Chrono meekly entered, followed by his friends.

Inside, sitting at a low table, writing on a parchment, was none other than Queen Leene. "Roland, who's there?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Toma couldn't stop laughing as he dressed Chrono. The new soldier was wearing a gold and blue breastplate, something in itself a comedic sight on such a dirty man, but even funnier considering he wore no other armor. Basically he was all chest, and his head looked about three sizes too small for him. Never mind his legs, which appeared no sturdier than two twigs. Chrono imagined he looked about the same even wearing grieves up to his knees.

"You were caught naked in an open field, that's what you were." Just to show he meant it all in good fun, Toma gave Chrono's back a good, hearty slap. Just in case the boy's bones needed some realigning. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch. Tell me, what was the look on the Queen's face when you said her husband was almost dead? Was she shocked?"

Chrono didn't care. His mind was elsewhere. _Now what? The entire Guardian army knows the truth, and it may change the world… for the worse. If I had just stopped Nadia… where is she? Why did they make her leave? And why did I volunteer for this stupid – forget it. I should just take this off and leave. But then, if this is my fault, the least I can do is try to fix it. And fix it I certainly can. I hope the lightning won't hurt me in this metal suit._ Toma had just strapped the helmet on. A plain gray, or black, or blue – Chrono couldn't tell in the dark – metal cap that covered the basics: the head, the ears, and the nose. Not the eyes. Why didn't they ever think to protect the eyes?

"There. That's how to dress for battle."

"Don't you normally do this, you know, when the sun comes up?"

"No. The general has decreed. We must surprise the enemy. What other reason have you that we dress as trappers and explorers and live around campfires? For our good health?"

"I just don't see the good in it. I mean, the mystics already know we're here."

Toma eyed the boy suspiciously. "How would you – "

"I'm guessing..."

Just then Robo arrived. He bowed to the others and spoke quickly. "The women are already dressed. I found them each a crossbow, like you said."

"I told you I could do it," Toma winked at Chrono. "Did I not?" He noticed the boy's worried expression. "Calm yourself. After fighting a few battles myself…" he grinned. "I know how to keep the mind at ease."

"No, it's just… Nadia and Lucca."

"Chrono, they made this decision on their own." Robo had spoken the right words. Chrono relaxed – a little. "We all are a part of this, and we _all _are responsible to change history. They will be out of harm's way. Most likely, anyway."

Toma took this time to finish dressing Chrono. "This is the belt," he practically beamed, as if he possessed secret knowledge. "It holds all the armor… stiff… and keeps this protected." He tapped Chrono on the gut. It wasn't a hard tap, but it was enough to make the boy grunt. "All that is left is the sword."

"I have one, thanks," Chrono said awkwardly.

"Do you have a shield of some kind?"

"No."

"Then you'll have to raid the 'armory' for more. The sooner you get dressed, the better."

"When are you getting dressed, then?"

"I put it on as close to the dawn of battle as possible. Some soldiers never like to take it off. Such as your friend." He pointed to Robo.

"Oh no, I am not wearing – "

"And speaking of dawn… it is but two hours away." Toma paused, his eyes flashing. "Then we fight."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Toma was right when he said there would be a fight. But he was wrong about the dawn. It didn't come in two hours. It came in twenty.

At least that's what Chrono felt laying in some bushes near the bridge. As the sunlight crept over the horizon, he saw more and more just what lay ahead. The bridge itself looked incredibly sturdy, despite being suspended almost thirty feet above the water. Right next to both ends of the bridge were steep cliffs, and as Chrono's eye wandered farther from the structure, the slope flattened out a little. Granted, it was still steep, but it wouldn't be too hard to climb up or down. A fact not lost on the general Roland.

He had gone over the plan once before everyone went to their places. According to the "script," dawn would break just as the mystics began to cross the bridge. They would not be expecting any armies because their scouts would find nothing and would instead report the false army they had stationed to the east. The mystics would be slaughtered on the bridge. Of course they would try to cross the river under the bridge, but they would be vulnerable as they went down the slope, as they crossed the water (in a boat – it was too deep to wade), and as they came up the other side. The mystics would be slaughtered in the water. Finally, the Guardian Army would surge across and slaughter the mystics on the other side of the bridge. The goal was to inflict many casualties and take few prisoners. Chrono wondered why everyone was so interested in taking few prisoners.

Then the army was dismissed. Chrono and Robo both hunkered down in the same bush, just twenty feet from the bridge. Toma was opposite them, licking his lips in anticipation. Nadia and Lucca had gone to the cliffs near the base of the bridge, where they waited with the archers. Who knew how long before everyone realized the army had acquired two women.

Chrono looked through the branches to get another glimpse of the bridge. Dawn had broken, and not a sign of stirring from the enemy camp.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ozzie, the imp, and The General waited at the other end of the bridge, just out of sight. Also with them was The Sorceress. Another person the general despised. Not because she was a woman, but because she was so unlike a woman. For starters, she had an impossible figure, something only a man could dream up. The rumor (which the general did not doubt) was that Magus had magically altered her to suit his particular tastes. Her figure wouldn't be such a big issue if she didn't always flaunt it – which was pointless because she had the body of a human in an army full of mystics. Did she really think anyone would stop and stare? The only one staring at her body was The Sorceress herself, as if it enticed her more than it could any man. The General chuckled to himself – she used to be called Flea. Of course she insisted it was pronounced "Flay-uh," he never hesitated to call her the parasite she was.

Now she was the one talking to the imp. "I command you to cross that bridge and report any enemy activity." Never mind that The General had issued the order. What did she care?

The imp visibly trembled. He knew he had no easy task. If the Guardian Army was indeed on the other side of the bridge, he would certainly be killed. But it was for the good of all mystics – a high honor. Besides, it was foolproof. If there was no army, the mystic would return unharmed and the army would move to the east. But if the imp were killed, then The General would know just where the army had attacked from and where they hid. Of course, if by some chance the imp were left alone, he would simply keep looking until he found a soldier hiding in one of the many shrubs and rocks around the cliff.

"Sir Slash?" It was Ozzie. "Are you sure this is right?" The General started. Had he just been addressed? By his real name, no less? He flashed Ozzie a dark look – he hated being called by his name. It was too personal… too real.

"Of course it is right. Do you have to ask after every decision I make?" Slash folded his arms as if to say _I have said what I need to say. You should not be talking._

Ozzie didn't pick up the hint. "Yes. As the one true intercessor, I – "

"Get gone!" Slash pulled his sword out, an action he quickly regretted. The weapon rang in the air. He could only hope that anyone who happened to be across the bridge hadn't heard. "And you!" he commanded the imp. "Move. Or we could carry out your prior sentence…" The imp was gone before Slash could sheath the sword.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono perked up. He could barely tell in the growing light, but he thought he saw someone (or something) crossing the bridge to their side. He couldn't see colors or anything, but it had the shape of a smaller mystic, perhaps an imp. There was only one. Other than this, there was no sign of activity from the other side.

That imp sure took its time coming over. It wouldn't have been so long if it hadn't given quick looks over its shoulder ever four or five paces, as if afraid of being tracked. As it got closer to the end, it would look every two steps.

"What's it doing?" one of the soldiers near Chrono whispered.

"Spying?" Chrono offered.

"Suicidal spy."

Robo tapped Chrono on the shoulder. "What happens to history if the plan fails?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"He is not moving."

Slash groaned. Not because Flea had stated the obvious so much as because he was impatient. "Every second counts. Make sure he doesn't turn around."

The Sorceress smiled, showing unnaturally straight white teeth. Ugly enough for a human. "Are you saying…"

"Yes."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono squinted a bit to make out the imp's features. The light had improved in the last five minutes and the imp had stopped at the foot of the bridge. As far as he could tell, the thing carried no weapons – not even a knife. And it wore no armor – just a loose brown (he thought it was brown, though in the low light it could have been more green) tunic and comically tight pants. Nothing else covered its blue skin. It was practically asking to be shot. Chrono almost considered killing it himself… though that would be exactly what the enemy would want.

Above all, he remembered, he could not expose their hiding place. But the fact that the imp was here already showed that the mystics had guessed someone was on this side of the bridge. If the imp was allowed to live, then they'd be exposed. If the imp was not allowed to live… maybe they wouldn't be exposed, but they would be discovered.

A sharp _thunk!_ interrupted his thoughts. He looked to the imp again. The mystic was looking between its feet. Chrono followed its gaze, squinting some more. There was something coming out of the ground! It looked like the shaft of an arrow, buried deep in the wood but still quivering as if just fired – from the other side of the bridge.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"He is moving now." There was no missing the glee in Flea's voice. She started to put down her bow.

"No," Slash raised a hand. "Keep it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The imp practically ran up to the first bush from the bridge. It stopped and then stared into the underbrush. Chrono winced. Any moment it would begin shouting or something, running around, drawing attention. But there was no sound. Chrono dared to look.

Of course – that bush didn't have any soldiers – just in case the mystics decided to fire into it to check. That was close.

But of course that wasn't all. Now the imp moved on to another hiding place. This time it actually held soldiers, most of whom hid behind the tree. The imp peered into the bushes around the tree but never actually checked behind it. _Preservation instinct_, Chrono thought first. His next though was _Why hasn't the thing sounded an alarm?_

He turned to Robo and whispered as quietly as possible. "Do those things have good eyesight?"

Robo just twisted the top of his head from side to side. Either that meant "no" or "I don't know."

Chrono repeated the question to some of the soldiers.

"Shh," was the only reply.

By now the mystic had looked at several hiding places – rocks, bushes, trees, a creek. Nothing. No sound. No alarm. No running back waving hands. Was the thing really that blind? It kept walking deeper and deeper, closer to the general's cabin. Chrono put a hand on his chest (or his armor… he had forgotten about that) – his heart was already beating heavily and there hadn't been more than two arrows fired! _I'll never make it this time._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Has he seen anything?" Ozzie pressed.

Flea looked over her shoulder to the General. "Maybe there really is no one there."

Slash shook his head. "There is – I know. He must be blind!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Just when the imp reached the end of the camp, it stopped and turned around. It had to have seen them – but it hadn't made any indication that it had. No doubt the imp knew that the only thing keeping it alive was its silence. Now it was free to return to the mystic camp. _That thing can just keep walking and we can't do anything about it…_

_Or can we? _Some of the other soldiers looked restless. They were practically shaking with anticipation, wanting to kill the imp but waiting for someone else to do it and take the blame. Chrono could tell because he thought the same thing himself. Robo must have sensed it because he placed a strong hand on the boy's shoulder, holding him back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Now he's coming back?"

Slash motioned to the Sorceress. "Right. And he has disobeyed orders by giving no signal. Remember I have already given him a second chance."

Flea understood the signal. She raised her bow again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The imp was so close now that Chrono could nearly touch it. _One strike – that's all it would take. It's right there. I could jump out and kill it before anyone saw anything. Just a little closer. A little closer._ It came to a stop and looked to either side. _Right out of reach, too._ Tentatively it lifted a foot for another step, the step Chrono would need to strike.

But the imp never took it. Instead, the mystic turned on its heels and ran. Chrono almost ran after it but checked himself. All of the other soldiers did the same. That is, all but one.

The imp barely looked to its left before a blur of armor came crashing into its side. A scream accompanied the blow. What surprised Chrono most was that the scream came from the Guardian – and it was no battle charge. The soldier crumbled to the ground, clutching his leg while the imp scurried away free.

A hush fell over the soldiers as they stared at the arrow protruding from the soldier's leg. No one doubted what that shaft was supposed to have killed. It was just the right height to strike through the imp's chest. Perhaps it was by dumb luck the man took the blow… if Chrono could call giving away their position and letting an enemy escape _luck_.

The hush didn't last long, though. Merely a few second later, the trees exploded with screams, curses, and the _whip!_ of arrows flying through the branches. Chrono instinctively dove to the earth just as everyone around him did the same. No one there appeared hurt, so he wondered why exactly there was so much yelling. He guessed it was because there was nothing to lose by giving away their position.

Minutes flew by before Chrono began to wonder why the mystics were wasting so many arrows. As far as he could see they weren't hitting much other than the bushes. He nudged Robo. "Can you tell what they're doing?"

They reply was nearly instantaneous. "The mystics are using the arrow fire as cover while their main army crosses the bridge."

"A diversion?"

"No. If anything, we have diverted them. They have not guessed that our archers are in place along the ravine. It is obvious because their army is only shielding the front and not the sides of their ranks."

"Wait – you can see all that?"

"My eyes were made far superior to yours," Robo huffed, then added politely, "no offense."

"None taken. What do we do now? We're not just going to wait until they're on top of us to attack, right?"

"I was not aware they were trying to get on top – "

"Forget it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roland rushed into his cabin on the heels of the imp. Why the thing had come in here, who could say? But it would certainly come out in a coffin. Or several coffins.

The thing was already cowering in a corner. "You'll not be the first to taste this blade," the general panted, pulling out his sword. "Just be thankful yours is the cleanest bite."

"Wait!" the imp screeched, its arms over its head. "I surrender! I surrender!"

The response halted Roland. "So soon. Mystic dog, get up. I can't kill a pathetic worm."

"So am I a dog or a worm?"

"Quiet!"

"I said I surrender. Please!" The imp got on its knees and clutched the general's ankles. "I swear loyalty to the throne forever – just please do not send me back!"

Roland shook his legs, trying to free them from the creature's grasp. This was different. He may be a ruthless general, but he couldn't kill in cold blood. Sometimes the rules of honor were inconvenient. "Loyalty from a Mystic? I require proof."

"Then I shall give it. Our army has prepared in every way for this attack. I was sent to reveal your hiding place."

"I have a three-year-old daughter. She would have guessed as well."

"The fight on the bridge is only the beginning. We – they – command sorcerers who will call on the dead."

"Don't be foolish! Magus himself – "

"No – others."

"If you are lying…"

"I am not. Whatever you do, keep your soldiers off the bridge. It was… tampered with… during the nights. They will retreat falsely to draw your army to the bridge and then destroy it in one instant. Mark my words and wait for the retreat."

Roland gripped his sword tighter. The imp must be lying. No mystic ever spoke the truth. But if this one did… what it said could tip the balance of the entire battle. The general spoke slowly and chose his words carefully. "Why I spare you, I don't know. But if what you say is true, I have no choice but to let you live. Nay, more. To honor you as an ally. But if you lie, you will be killed – and I have learned how to make death painful. Do those wretches give you a name?"

"Yes, sir. They call me Jarob."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes I updated! Okay, so it's been a while. You may all return from the edges of your seats. This is just a reminder to R&R. You'll have some time - I might not update any more this month (gasp!). But for those of you who like action, the next update should satisfy you... maybe.


	32. XIV: The Battle of Zenan Bridge 3

**The Battle of Zenan Bridge**

The enemy was over the bridge and the Guardians leapt into the fray, Chrono with them. He let out a passionate primal screech and began swinging his sword. _Bam!_ One mystic down. _Whack!_ Two. _Whack Whack_. Four. Almost like clockwork… By the fifteenth body, though, he noticed that a lot of his attackers looked exactly the same, down to their skin markings. These were the first armored foes he'd matched, and he was still picking up on the idea that the sword should go into the places _without_ the armor.

He tried that technique on the next goblin – _slash!_ The sword went into the neck… and out the other side. Chrono jumped a bit at the sight, and he was sure he would have gone into a fit of shakes had he not been interrupted by another mystic smashing his ribs.

Suddenly his face was in the dirt and he slid a few feet. Then there was no more dirt. There were rocks. Then sky. Then rocks. Then sky. Then a great rock which broke his fall (if not all of his bones). Of course the pain barey registered. He knew he'd feel it when the battle was over, but now he had to push it aside and fight or… well, he didn't want to think about _or_.

As if he had the time. The next moment five imps came charging down the ravine after him. A few of them fell and slid along the way, stirring up dust and knocking pebbles into his armor. Now he couldn't see a thing, but he heard mystic screams.

With a shout he swung his sword in the general direction of the sounds. Nothing. He took a few more swings until he hit something hard, which then fell the rest of the way down to the water. _Four more_. The next swing caught another one. _Three._ Before he could swing again, he felt a blow to his back. He clenched his eyes shut as he tumbled into the water.

All the sounds were instantly muted – a rare peaceful moment in battle – and Chrono could finally hear himself think. He opened his eyes… then wished he hadn't. The water wasn't blue… or clear… or green. It was brownish black – and almost directly in front of him was a freshly slain goblin, and arrow lodged somewhere Chrono didn't care to find out.

Almost in defiance of physics, he leapt out of the water and threw himself onto the sandy slope… where another corpse lay, mangled and broken from a fall off the bridge. Strangely, Chrono felt no fear or shock… he felt a surge of adrenaline. His first move was to kick the corpse into the water. Then he would kill him some mystics.

Only one mystic was still standing nearby. An easy kill, Chrono thought. He brought his sword high to slice but was kicked in the stomach. Before he could react, the imp dove at his legs, knocking him to the ground. Chrono thrust his hands up just in time to catch the thing's club as it swung toward his head. He had to drop his sword to keep the imp's weapon away, and now he could do nothing but try to push the mystic off. Being twice the thing's size, he found the struggle almost easy, until the imp let go with one hand and pressed it over the boy's face, trying to stick its fingers into his eyes. Chrono couldn't help but scream and kick at the thing. _Clang!_

_Wait… it's wearing metal._

Chrono concentrated until he could feel the electricity flowing out of his hands, his feet, his face even. For a brief second the mystic clawed at his face and then it was off – not dead but certainly injured. Chrono didn't think twice and kicked the imp right into the water. He still felt the power of the electricity in his veins as he stepped into the murk. There was a sharp_ crack!_ and the imp was dead. _I'd almost forgotten I could do that._

His thoughts were interrupted by an arrow lodging itself in the sand between his feet. Chrono dove behind the nearest boulder and looked toward the other side of the bridge. He couldn't see anything – but that didn't mean there wasn't something over there keeping an eye on him.

Then he noticed something strange in the sky… a dark cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky. _Great. The only thing worse than a war is a war in the rain._ The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

A cry brought his attention to the bridge above him. "On the water! On the water!" Of course… the next part of the battle plan. By now the mystics must have realized they could never cross the bridge itself. It was too narrow a battle line. Now the real offensive began.

Chrono dared a peek around the edge of his boulder. True enough… the mystics were braving a run for the water. They ran in groups of four, each group carrying a small raft. The raft was an ordinary wood plank except for a firm metal sheet attached on three sides… protection. Apparently the mystics also realized where all the arrows were coming from.

But it wasn't arrows they needed to worry about. Chrono snapped his fingers until he produced a spark. Maybe this magic stuff could be fun.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roland darted out of the cabin and to the bridge. Perhaps the imp was lying, but if it wasn't, then at any moment the battle could be lost. But he could see that the battle was still being fought on his side of the bridge, so nobody had called for any retreat. There was still time to change the plans…

The general blazed his way through the thick of the fighting, only using his sword to push mystics out of his path. Whatever they did now, they could not push across the bridge. They'd have to find another way across.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono managed to hold his nerves steady until the rafts reached the shore. He could hardly restrain the magic flowing through him. He reached his hand toward the water… but he was just a little bit too far up the bank. Either that or the bank had suddenly moved farther away from his hand. He leaned closer, but it was still no use. Finally he put everything he had into it, and he felt the difference:

Though he still had a dry hand, he'd found another way to reach the water. He almost gasped… there was real lightning coming out of his hand! If he'd seen it anywhere else, he would have doubted it immediately, but he could actually feel the electricity leaving his body. It came out as incredibly bright blue beams (so bright they were almost white) that sounded not unlike the warning cry of a dangerously poisonous snake. Not a terribly intimidating sound – almost like a balloon losing its air – but every once in a while there was a sharp crack and some sparks would fly out of his bright blue hand.

Chrono looked over to the first of the rafts to reach the shore. From where he squatted, he couldn't see that his magic had done anything like he had planned. But then, the first mystic hadn't stepped into the water yet.

_Crack!_

The first brown imp leapt over the metal sheet and into knee-deep murk, whereupon it instantly straightened up and fell over dead. Apparently nobody else had heard or seen this, because several more mystics threw themselves out of their rafts and into the water.

_Crack!_

Chrono almost jumped at the sound – it was a little sharper and stronger considering the amount of damage he had caused. But also the mystics were a lot closer. _Crack!_ One of the goblins fell almost right in front of him, its lifeless eyes staring into his. Chrono didn't bother to look long enough to invent some sort of symbolism. He just kept pumping the electricity out of his arm. That is, if _pumping_ was the right word. He still wasn't sure what part of the body was pulling that out, but whatever it was, it was beginning to get tired. And he was beginning to get nervous. All his energy was focused on his magic. He'd hardly noticed that he couldn't hear anymore mystics getting fried.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"There's a problem on the east shore…"

Flea pointed across the water for the general. "None of the troops are leaving the 'boats.'"

"Then get them to leave. The next move is ours. Get three soldiers under the bridge and have them wait for my command." With that the general ran back to the bridge.

"Odd…" Flea mused. Something strange was happening down by the shore. Too far away for any normal eye to detect, but her black eyes saw beyond any normal eye. "Ozzie, do you notice that – down there, by that boulder?"

"I see nothing but… wait… impossible."

"Truly. At least, it will be."

Ozzie stammered, looking for some intelligent words. "But… but we are the only mages left! Surely that is a trick! It must be!"

"Quiet. You're ruining my concentration."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono couldn't hold his arm up much longer. His muscles were burning, begging him to please, _please_ give his arm a rest. Very well – he could just as well use the other one.

As soon as he dropped his hand, he felt his arm pinned back into the dirt. An arrow protruded from a fresh hole in sleeve of his armor. Chrono could only stare, both amazed and grateful that the arrow had only pierced armor. _Could it be any closer?_ He'd hardly comprehended this when another arrow struck, this time successful.

"Aah!" Chrono's forearm now had a bloodied arrow sticking out. Thank goodness the thing hadn't gone all the way through… but even then the wound was severe. Now he sprang into action and threw himself completely behind his boulder.

_Oh oh oh ow ow! Do I pull this thing out? _He grabbed the shaft and gave it a good yank. "Awk!" _No. That's not working. It's caught in my armor... or my arm! I can't just take that off! What if I try…_ he focused again and felt the electricity flowing – he especially felt it around the wound. Slowly the arrow began to vibrate and pull itself out of the hole… but only partially. _Now it's far enough out to pull…_

"Aaagh!" _That wasn't so smart._ Now he was holding a bloodied, twisted, sinister arrow in one hand… and his other hand was empty and covered with more blood. So Chrono did what any normal man would have done in his place. He fainted.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roland was almost to the bridge.

"Brother!" The cook stumbled up to him.

"You!" was all Roland could think of to say in that moment.

"We're pushing them back, brother," Rowan shouted. "Across the bridge." His eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"Just as we…" Roland stopped. Wait… if they were _already_ pushing across the bridge, and the enemy had planned… "The enemy is retreating? We must get off the bridge!"

"Brother?" Rowan began, but the general could hardly hear as he rushed to the fray.

It seemed the cook had slightly exaggerated their push. The Guardians were only about halfway across, if that. And the mystics were certainly going down, though slower than expected. Roland pushed his way to the front of the line. "Fall b – "

Before he could finish the order he was hit in the side by something, and he tumbled into the railing of the bridge. In an instant he was on his feet, sword at the ready. _Ah, now is the time._

Across from him was the mystic general. Slash had his own sword ready, though his was stained with blood. The thought that any mystic could slay a man angered Roland, and he swore inwardly to stain his own sword with that devil's blood. He cried out and swung his weapon hard into the general's side.

_Clang!_ Slash easily parried the blow and brought his wicked sword in a long arc toward Roland's middle. _Clash!_ The blow was quickly blocked. This time Roland held his sword strong against the general's as they fought for control. The mystic's strength surprised him – most of the devils had the strength of little children. So Roland tried a new technique. He lifted his foot and planted his heel firmly in the other general's stomach, knocking the foe back.

Slash didn't stumble at all. He seemed to glide a few inches above the bridge. Roland watched in amazement but then realized that was probably what the other general wanted. He snapped out of it as Slash was running at him again.

Roland pointed his sword straight out, set to impale the mystic general. Slash kept on running, though, as if he didn't notice anything unusual at all. But at the last moment, he leapt into the air and twisted himself sideways, just narrowly missing the blade. At this point, Roland could do nothing but watch the general's heels slam into his chest. He staggered back a bit before diving and rolling away from Slash.

Now was his opportunity. "Back! Back!" he began to cry to his soldiers. "We must get off – "

Once again he was interrupted. Slash thrust his sword out to him, and he barely avoided the jab. Instantly he spun around to bring his sword into the mystic's neck. Only there was no neck there once he had spun around – Slash was standing a few feet back, smirking as Roland's sword whizzed by harmlessly, opening up his body to another blow. The mystic brought up his boot and kicked Roland first in the jaw, then in the stomach. He staggered back until he hit the railing of the bridge.

_I must train more when this is over._ Who knew that mystics could fight like that?

Slash gave him no more time to think before running at him for another blow. But Roland was ready. As Slash jumped into the air, Roland expertly dodged the general's foot. Now most mystics would continue flying over the railing and into the water below… but somehow Slash gripped the wooden beam with one hand as he was sailing over it and used his momentum to change course. Roland jerked back just in time to avoid a kick to the face.

But he couldn't dodge the next few blows. Almost faster than his eye could see, Slash landed three or four punches to his chest. The blows did nothing but knock the wind out of Roland, who leaned against the railing for support now. As Slash came in for another blow, Roland brought up a foot and easily knocked the general back.

"Quick, men! Fall – "

Suddenly the general was up again with his sword aimed directly for Roland's head. For some reason, the blow was harder to dodge… and he was finding it harder to breathe. He looked down to his chest and saw four neat holes in his armor… where the four punches had landed. The general must have been holding a knife of some kind – no mystic was strong enough to _punch _through metal.

Roland began to stumble until he grabbed hold of the railing again. Slash just stood from a distance and watched him gasping for breath. Then, the mystic thrust one more time… and Roland swiftly deflected the thrust.

But quicker than it seemed possible, Slash had Roland's hand in his. A twist of the mystic's wrist… and Roland's sword was in the air, flying over the railing toward the shore below.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono woke with a start. He'd been sleeping on the battlefield? _No… I couldn't have fainted… I must have passed out from shock. That's it. Shock. My wound's not that bad._ He brought his arm up again. _See, there's just a lot of blood. A lot. Wow. A lot of blood._

His attention was broken when a sword fell out of the cloudy sky and landed not two feet from his body. Instantly he jumped up and looked to the bridge above him. _What?_ That figure against the railing was unmistakably the general – _why is he in the front lines?_ – but there was something very wrong with the man. Chrono could tell even from where he stood.

The general either had a strange growth on his back… or a sword piercing all the way through his body. _That's it. We lose._ The sword disappeared and the general's body tumbled over the railing. It seemed to hang in midair for a few seconds, cape flapping in the air, before falling into the water. Chrono didn't accept it at first, as if any moment the general would rise to the surface and cry "can you believe it, he nearly killed me!" Instead he heard a different kind of cry.

"BROTHER!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

On the bridge, Slash had silently thrown Roland's body over the edge. Now that this distraction was done with, it was time for the best part of his plan.

"Retreat! Retreat! Back to the camp!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono hardly heard the call of "Retreat!" But he noticed the mystic army suddenly pull from the bridge – as if they had planned the maneuver all along. The Guardians seized their opportunity and surged across. Some of them were already on the other side when the whole thing burst in a cloud of fire and a crack echoed through the ravine.

The soldiers on the bridge stopped for a moment (apparently not even singed by the flame), as if paralyzed. For the bridge was now torn loose from its supports and split in half, as though cut with a clean knife. Slowly, even tentatively, the two halves began to tilt inward, and then they both suddenly collapsed toward the water below.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not much to say. No, the battle isn't over yet. Please review and let me know what you think. The familiar part (as in, the part from the game) of the battle is coming up. Really.


	33. XV: Making History

**Chapter XV: Making History**

Time stretched as the bridge split and fell. Chrono could see every tiny detail of the disaster – he saw splinters of wood spinning and floating to the water; the bodies of soldiers, pieces of armor, weapons, thrown over the edge; the grey cloud above growing larger and darker, as if fueled by the explosion – and the form of a woman pitched forward toward the split as if reaching to fix it…

Wait – a woman? _No! That's Nadia!_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nadia had only been on the bridge itself for a split second.

She hadn't intended to be in the thick of fighting. In fact, she had tried to stay as far away from the battle as possible. But a short while earlier her and Lucca's position had been bombarded with stones catapulted from the mystic camp. She had immediately run to higher ground along with most of the rest of the soldiers. There she ran into a much closer, and more dangerous, form of battle.

Now her enemy had a face. A face that almost frightened her - but instead infuriated her. Now she was glad to have carried her crossbow with her up the ravine.

A few minutes and several bolts later, she noticed that she had been pushed toward the bridge. She couldn't stop now – the fighting was so thick on all sides of her. The only way to go was toward the bridge. From there, she either had to use her last three bolts or make a suicidal jump over the railing. She took a peek over the edge.

The thirty foot drop looked a lot farther all of a sudden. Then something else drew her attention.

Chrono. He was lying still against a boulder. Her heart skipped a beat – he had been shot! She staggered back. If Chrono didn't make it… what if Lucca didn't? Or Robo? What would she do then?

She hardly heard the cry for retreat. But before she knew it the whole army was surging forward. And then there was no bridge under their feet. As she fell, Nadia thrust her hands out before she hit the water.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono didn't want to watch, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight: geyser-like eruptions as hundreds of armored men (and one woman) splashed into the water; logs from the bridge floating with several men clinging to each; the water turning a dark brown. One man popped up a short distance from Chrono, having dispensed with his armor so he could float. The man was immediately shot.

But the sight didn't frighten Chrono anymore – it just angered him. This was not a fair fight… and if the battle was already lost, then what harm would there be in taking a few hundred mystics down along the way? Granted, it wasn't the soundest logic, but it gave him enough of a push to start running toward the ruins. And no one seemed interested in killing him with all the helpless victims in the water for targets. That last point made him angriest because he couldn't fry anymore mystics without inflicting casualties on his own side.

Then he noticed something very odd in the water between the two shores: there was a clean spot, like a bright blue circle, smack in the middle of the soiled water. And all the time the spot was growing larger, until it was wide enough to fit twenty, then thirty men.

And then a form appeared from the center of the circle – Nadia. She was clinging to a large, flat, thin disk which bobbed up and down on the surface of the water. With her were at least ten soldiers who had managed to grab on to the edge before sinking to the bottom. Every moment more soldiers grasped any free edges of the disc – which, if Chrono wasn't mistaken, was actually getting _larger_. Not only that, but the soldiers were beginning to find it difficult to get their fingers around the edges as the disc grew thicker. Soon the disc was thick enough for the soldiers to clamber on.

Nadia was on her knees in the center, soaked the bone but otherwise looking as if she had just stopped for a short rest. But then her hands looked a little strange… and Chrono couldn't really see her fingers: they were embedded in the disc! _Of course… magic_. Nadia was making an actual ice floe! By this time the battle sounds had almost ceased as everyone watched the ice beginning to spread to either shore.

But the moment didn't last long before the battle continued – on the ice. Chrono was first to rush out onto the water as the mystics began to run down the ravine. He raised his sword high and shouted his best war cry. A moment later he was sprawled on his back, feet in the air, along with about twenty other men. Apparently there was some getting used to in fighting on the ice.

He pulled himself up just as the mystics were in fighting range. Right away in his face was a… well, Chrono couldn't say. A frog? A toad? A green man? He didn't know, but it was the ugliest mystic he'd seen in a while. The mystic carried no weapon as far as he could see (unless there was something tucked away in those giant robes), so Chrono figured this was another easy kill. He swung his sword in a wide arc…

And suddenly the toad wasn't there. Chrono whirled around – it was behind him. _Wow – that's fast!_ He swung again… missed. He thrust. Missed. Every time his sword got close, the thing would just, well, appear somewhere else. _Maybe there's something more than speed here._ He lowered his sword.

Before he knew it Chrono found his neck in the tight grip of the mystic's fist. He grimaced. The toad's green flesh smelled like a living sewer. A sewer that had never been cleaned. Ever. The thing just glared at Chrono with tiny eyes like black insect eggs. He wanted to retch, but with his airways closed, he just wheezed.

The thing kept staring, then spoke. "Who are you," it half-whispered, showing slimy, jagged white teeth. "No man could… I am the true intercessor." It's grip grew tighter, and Chrono's vision started getting blurry.

It hurt to move his body anymore, but Chrono didn't care too much about the pain. In one motion he gripped his sword and whipped it in an upward arc. Instantly the thing released its grip. Down the front of its previously clean white robe was a dark red stain, like a stripe. "Ozzie's…" it grumbled. "Ozzie's in… a jam." It took a few steps back – stumbled – and clutched at its stomach.

Chrono caught his breath and charged. _So he's not so tough._ But the thing just darted to one of the fallen Guardian soldiers and ducked behind it. _Pathetic_. Chrono could see the huge round form looming from behind. Perhaps if he had found a large body instead of a skinny youngster. Even now the mystic was muttering to itself. Chrono thrust his sword…

And stuck it right into the dead soldier. Only the soldier was standing up… the creep was using dead bodies as a shield? This dead body wasn't being held up. The mystic was several feet behind and running. Chrono grunted and shoved the body out of the way. The chase was on.

But another body got in his way. In fact, it had _walked_ in his way. _Not possible! It's dead!_ Chrono shoved that one away and kept going. And then there was another body, and another, and another. Soon the cadavers surrounded him. _What kind of magic is this? _Chrono thrust – right into the belly of one of the bodies. But the corpse didn't even react. It just kept moving forward on Chrono's sword.

He jerked back. Of course… _you can't kill a dead man. How fair is this?_

"Goodbye for now… mage!" The giant toad was just outside the circle, calling bravely despite having a gash in its midsection. _Weasel_. All the while the cadavers stomped their way closer. Chrono couldn't help but wonder how these things could move by themselves… most of them had closed eyes (one had no head). And they didn't react to anything. _Not fair_. None of them held weapons, which made Chrono wonder just how they planned to do him in. There were at least fifteen… and one of him.

So his sword wouldn't work. But if magic got them going, could it stop them? Chrono thrust a hand toward one, and a blue bolt shot out of his fingers and went right into the heart. That worked – the body jerked and fell on its back, sliding across the ice. Chrono turned on the other bodies and sent them all across the ice in one sweep. _Too easy._

But before he knew it the bodies were back up and coming toward him again. Chrono tried again – the blue bolts shot from his fingers with a crack. At this rate he would keep the cadavers at bay, but he couldn't keep going forever. They just kept getting back up. He pushed two out of his way and ran out of the circle.

Chrono realized then that there were a whole lot more bodies – and they were fighting against their living soldiers. Which was which? Actually, it wasn't that hard to tell. The deceased soldiers were clumsy, clunky, like puppets. They didn't seem to have good use of their limbs, and so they were easily cut down. But they always got up again until there wasn't enough tissue left to reanimate. An easy target, but a distraction nonetheless. And the Guardians seemed very uneasy about destroying the bodies of their comrades.

As if this weren't enough, the mystics continued to pour in from the ravine. One of the goblins rushed at him with a long spear. Chrono just sidestepped and let the goblin slide past. On the way, he thumped the mystic on the skull with the butt of his sword. But he wasn't even finished with the blow when another goblin bore down on him. This one had a little more skill, and managed to get one swing at Chrono before sliding past. He didn't get to land a blow before he felt a thump to the side of his head. His vision blurred for a moment, and the next thing he knew he was on his back staring at the sky.

Only there was no sky – just black clouds hovering over him. _Is this another magic trick?_ He could feel more electricity building up inside – _a storm's coming_. Was the original battle fought in a storm? He couldn't remember. Or, at least, it wasn't in his history books.

Chrono leapt to his feet and resumed the fighting. He didn't pay attention to his moves anymore – the rest flowed, almost like training. Training against live targets. He tried not to think about it too much.

Which was why he was surprised when he suddenly heard a "still alive, are you?" from behind. He whirled around, barely checking his swing before lopping off Toma's head. "Good. 'Tis hardly fair how they use our bodies against us." As if to prove his point, another zombie came at them. Toma easily pushed it away with his sword. "Speak of the devil, they say. Some kind of wicked sorcery." Chrono agreed, but hated how the man could talk so easily during battle.

More of the mystics came over the ravine, seemingly an endless supply. They were quickly wearing down the Guardian army, which at this point was reduced to swinging at anything that moved.

"Now these beasts are more fun," Toma interjected, skewering an imp. Chrono grimaced, skewering a few of his own. "Nothing like real blood to enliven the battle. Thrust!"

"Chrono! Chrono!" Finally, someone else. Lucca's cry was a welcome relief. He turned to see her running across the ice, battered but otherwise looking fine. For some reason she didn't have any weapon. "Chrono, it's changing!"

Chrono whirled around, sword at the ready. "What's changing! Where!"

"No!" Lucca had reached him by now. "History! It's different! I remember – do you?"

Chrono just shook his head.

"All this? History? Right – when was the last time _you _studied. Everything is different… but it's the same. Like I read about this battle, but also the other one. The one we weren't here."

"Pardon?"

"Whatever. Just listen to me… we've got to think of a plan. The mystics are going to summon a monster of some kind… that's the last step." Chrono didn't respond. "Never mind! Just find some cover. We have to get out of here before we change anything else!"

A piercing, unearthly scream finished her thought. Most everyone on the ice stopped at the sound. They just stared at the bodies littering the field. Chrono followed their gaze. The bodies on the ice were moving. Sure, they had been up and moving before, but this was somehow different. The bodies weren't standing up or anything… but their bodies were shaking. Shuddering. And then…

Chrono averted his eyes quickly. He had seen enough to get the idea. It was the mystics' newest magic trick. Opening the bodies of the deceased – if it was to scare them, it worked – and using the bones… now Chrono couldn't help but look. The bones were being rearranged. Taking shape… a humanoid shape – almost. There were legs, arms, hands, sharp and pointed fingers; but there was no real head. Bones in the place of a head, yes, but nothing else. If it was a creature controlled by magic, it didn't need eyes to see or a mouth to speak. Who knew how many bones the creature had, but there were enough to give it a height of at least twelve feet, and a proportion to match.

Even the bravest of soldiers, mystic and human, took a step back. Only the foolish stood ground. Toma, for example.

The beast turned on him first. Toma didn't move but kept a tight grip on his sword. Chrono just wondered what he planned to do with a conventional weapon against a clearly unconventional opponent. The beast didn't care. With one sweep of its arm, it sent Toma sailing through the air all the way to the far slope of the ravine.

Everyone took another step back.

Then the beast took a step forward. It swung its arm around again, catching at least four soldiers and hurling them into the air – one of them was a mystic. A mistake? The beast continued swinging, sending soldiers from both sides flying.

"Too late," Chrono muttered to Lucca. She just kicked him lightly in the shin.

There was, however, one opponent the beast couldn't move. Robo. Every time the beast swung, Robo braced himself, legs wide apart, arms tucked in to his body. The giant arm crashed with the metal, and Robo's body rippled from the effect, but otherwise he was unmoved. Naturally, the beast was also unaffected. It was a stalemate. That was a start.

Until the beast roared. Well, it didn't actually roar… but it was poised as if to. Its mouth opened wide, and out came not a sound but a giant fireball. It consumed Robo's form for a moment before he fell over, his head spinning all the way around as if dazed. _That's not fair at all._

Lucca suddenly gripped Chrono's arm. "Hold it! It's magic!" He just glared at her. "No… I mean, the creature is made from magic. Don't you get it? If it's made by magic, then…" she gestured to him.

"…"

She rolled her eyes. "Then it can be destroyed by magic. Right? Magic is holding it together!"

"Right…" Chrono pried himself loose from Lucca's grip and pointed to one side of the beast. "You go that way, I'll go this way."

"Whatever," Lucca said before running behind to attack.

Chrono wasn't sure what exactly splitting up would do to help, other than avoid getting both of them killed at once. Plus the beast couldn't attack in two directions at the same time. If magic didn't work, though, then it wouldn't matter if the beast had to pick them off one by one.

_Easy… don't let your imagination take over._

As soon as Lucca was in place he made the first move. Once more the blue bolts shot from his fingers, crackling and sparkling. The bolts disappeared into the beast's legs. It buckled for a moment, then stopped and turned to face Chrono. Apparently the attack hadn't done much but distract - and anger - the beast. Chrono stepped back, hoping to get out of its reach. _Lucca, now would be a good time_.

With a blast of hot air, the beast's head erupted in a fireball. Lucca stood below, hands in the air, feet wide apart, controlling the flames. Strangely the fire continued to burn, though nothing on the beast technically could have been burning. Then Chrono saw that the bones themselves were not burning, but the air _around_ the bones was – as if there was an invisible layer of flesh being consumed. And yet it was not being consumed. The flames showed no sign of going out – in fact, they kept rising higher into the black sky, illuminating the fierce cloud formations above. Chrono wasted no more time watching, though. He let fly with more sparks, and though he thought he was trying his hardest to concentrate, the bolts of electricity paled in comparison with Lucca's mighty fire. They also had no effect on the beast, which was clawing at its head in desperation.

Chrono looked to his friend again. Lucca had relaxed slightly, but she stood ready for another attack. She raised her arms in the air and put her hands together, palms facing out. Her face was set in determination, but no fire came yet. She jerked her head down. And up. And back down. Then she set her palms against the ice floor.

Now the fire came. All Chrono saw was a sudden flash of red light by Lucca's palms before he instinctively shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the beast had instantly shrunk about four feet. No – it had fallen. Where the beast had stood was a wide hole in the ice. The beast had sunk nearly up to its waist, and it clutched wildly to the side with both of its brittle hands. Chrono almost chuckled at the thought of the terrifying beast clambering for its life. Now it was his turn. Surely his electricity could finish the thing off, now that it was submerged. He raised his hands –

And they dropped back to his side. _What?_ He couldn't lift his hands back up. Or move his legs. Or breath.

He knew the reason before he dropped his head. There, coming out of his stomach, was the butt end of a spear, attached firmly to one of the beast's hands. It must have taken hold of the weapon from a fallen soldier and thrust it all the way through Chrono's armor and his body. He could feel the shaft coming out of his back. It felt like someone's hand was in there, grabbing and pulling at his organs. But there was no pain. Just the storm above. The electricity.

Chrono felt the magic flowing – his own pouring out and the storm pouring in. He closed his eyes just out of instinct, but he could still see the lightning bolt, thick as an oak, that burst from the clouds to strike the beast squarely on the head. Chrono's body was freed from the beast and from the ground. He didn't feel when or where he landed, much less see, but his last vision before blacking out was that of Robo running toward him. Robo's arms were gone, replaced with deep red spinning blades. Blades that were cutting mystics in two.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several reasons why I have not uploaded 'til now, but here's the big one. My computer is going down in flames. I'm not sure why - I never visited dangerous sites, and my computer doesn't even realize there's a problem, but I expect the computer to shut itself down at least three times a day. This makes it very difficult to work. If I don't save every five minutes I lose everything.

Anyway, I'm sorry for not getting this up sooner. All that aside, please continue to review, and keep in mind that updates will be hit or miss for the next eight months. College is probably going to sap all my energy. Maybe I'll finish this chapter by then. So long.


	34. XV: Making History 2

**Making History**

There were no dreams; Chrono just awoke as if he had never really slept. Right away he felt Lucca's arms surround him and lift his head from the ice. She put her head against his and gasped. Hesitantly, Chrono returned the embrace. This was something new, and he probably wouldn't get it again. In fact, just as abruptly as it started it was over – his head dropped back to the ice with a _thunk_.

"Quit fooling around," Lucca said, though she was having trouble getting the words out through heavy breaths. She sounded as if her voice somehow betrayed her, and she wouldn't look Chrono directly in the eye. "We have to get moving. There isn't much time." She dusted off her clothes, for she had already removed her armor, and left.

Chrono sat up more quickly than he thought possible. His armor was all removed and laying at either side of him. Each piece was split precisely in two and otherwise undamaged. The spear had been removed from his midsection and there was no sign of a scar. The only sign there had been a struggle at all was a hole in his tunic.

"I am glad to see you have recovered."

Robo had come from behind and now stood in front of Chrono. "Nadia got to you just in time to… ah… to… sorry… to save your life. I only wish we had helped sooner, but… ah… there were so many bodies we could… ah… sorry… we couldn't find you… and, sorry… I am finding it very difficult to speak. Forgive me. I am uncertain as to my feelings. But I could not bear to lose you… certainly Miss Lucca and Nadia would feel something too. They have been practicing longer than I."

Chrono stood. "Thanks."

"You are welcome. Lucca has told me that we are to meet her and Nadia in the blue tent on the other side of the ravine."

"They're there now?"

"No. There are still many more wounded soldiers." Chrono understood. "I will show you the way."

Robo set off toward the north side of the ravine at a slow pace, making sure not to get too far ahead of Chrono, who, though not injured, still found it difficult to walk. Maybe he was just tired. Or he didn't have the will to move.

Then a new thought came to him. In the thick of the fight it would never occur to him, but now that the battle was over and he thought about the last few hours, he could really see what happened. And now he couldn't understand just why he had been fighting – or even why there had been a battle, or a war. He had read the history books years ago when he was tutored, though he had forgotten nearly everything since then. Of course he remembered the Mystic War, but he couldn't remember just what started it. Perhaps there was no reason – had the two peoples got bored and decided to kill each other off? Was it a war of conquest – and if so, why would the two sides bother to conquer each other anyway? Each body Chrono saw on the ground only added to his confusion, as he saw them all as just one more life wasted. Most of the men looked about his age or a little older - but not much. And now they were gone. Wherever they were, they were certainly gone, and Chrono couldn't help imagining how easy it would have been for _him_ to be one of the bodies. Another life wasted. And what if those men had lived? Surely they would be killed the next battle – or the next. And if they had lived through the war they would eventually die in their beds. More lives wasted. Did they fight because life did not matter or because death did not matter? More and more Chrono questioned himself, why he had even come to exist, to the point of muttering the question aloud.

"Pardon?" It was Robo, who was definitely not aware of all that Chrono was going through. He kept walking as if the carnage had bothered him not at all.

"Sorry, I was thinking aloud. Never mind."

"No, please. Go on. It is better to think aloud than to sit alone with our thoughts."

Chrono wanted to say "When did _you_ become a philosopher," but instead he just said "you don't want to know."

"Oh yes, I do. Perhaps I can help you with your thoughts – and you with mine. I cannot bear the silence another minute."

"What's the point then?" Chrono stopped and let his hands go limp at his sides. "Of all this. We could have been another number in the death count of history. I could have read about my own death in the history books."

Robo stopped and turned to face the boy. "Yes, well there are certain mysteries about time travel…"

"No, not that. Not that at all. I was just…" he took a deep breath. "Why do we do all this? Why fight at all?" The words sounded ridiculous out loud.

"I have never totally understood fighting. From what I gathered in Miss Lucca's books, all wars were struggles for survival. Perhaps that is all we do. You do. Perhaps these people fought simply to survive – for our race to survive. That is… ah… your human race. To not fight is to die."

"But if you fight, you die."

"Yes, you are right. I will have to study further to understand. For now, let us walk. I do not wish to see this battlefield ever again."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lucca was waiting for them when they got to the tent. She immediately ran to Chrono and gave him another embrace. Chrono wasn't as surprised this time around. Now he just enjoyed the moment and returned the embrace. Perhaps Lucca had come to the same realizations as he. That thought brought a feeling of intimacy to Chrono, at least in the familial sense, and he wished the moment would never end even though his feelings had nothing to do with Lucca. For once he didn't feel he was fighting on his own. In the moment he vowed to himself that, whatever the cost, he would fight for their survival, to the death.

But this moment was also too short. Almost before it was over Lucca was back to business. "History has changed, Chrono. We changed history."

"…"

"Of course, if you studied once in a while you'd know firsthand what I'm talking about. I mean, history – the way it was written – is just _different_. I can remember reading the old books… or the books I read before… you know, and at the same time I can "remember" studying this last year, reading the books of the history we just created. I'm remembering things that never happened! It's not even possible, but I'm aware of two alternate realities. Chrono, this has to be amazing. Come on."

Chrono shrugged.

"But this means we have to be very careful how we work. We're here to find Magus…"

"Who is on an undiscovered island," Chrono interrupted, "that disappeared before modern historians could map it and from which Magus disappeared within the next year. Am I right?"

"Good, you remember."

"And all this without interrupting history? How much did we alter it today?"

Lucca frowned in concentration before answering, "a lot. But time rights itself in another couple hundred years. Then everything will be back to normal. Except for the outcome of the battle."

"Wait, hold on, we _lost_?"

"No – well, not really. We lost more men than they, I suppose, but the 'defeat' caused a mass uprising of civilians, so we massacred the mystics in the next few battles."

"That's fortunate. For us."

About this time Nadia came into the tent. She was still in her armor, though by the way she walked, it appeared to have become three times as heavy. Her eyes were half-closed, and she seemed to look right through everyone in the room. "It's done," was all she said, or all she was able to say before she crashed on a straw mat.

"Over four thousand were saved by her," Lucca beamed. "History has forgotten who she is. But we won't."

They all shared a moment of silence together. Chrono wondered if the others thought the same things as he – whether they questioned the reasons behind this "adventure," their motives, and even the worth of their own lives. Looking at Nadia, Chrono felt a sudden puff of pride, and a dash of humility – a paradoxical feeling – that came from knowing that, while Spekkio had certainly given them their quest, that mystical creature could have chosen _anyone_. Chrono had never felt so unqualified in his life. Who was he, and who were these three others in the tent? This was one lottery he wished they hadn't won. But as long as it had been charged to them to defeat this mythical "Lavos," then there was nothing to do but obey, and the thought frightened Chrono. What could he do? Say "thanks, but no thanks," to a creature that could easily kill them if angered? Now he felt not only unqualified, but unimportant.

As if to relieve Chrono of his thoughts, Toma poked his head into the tent at that moment. "She asleep?" he grunted, motioning to the unconscious form of Nadia on the mat. "Never you mind. You should be packing soon." Then he was gone.

Lucca saved them the confusion: "he's talking about the celebration. Most of the soldiers are going to stop in Dorino and get drunk."

"We don't have to go, do we?" Chrono asked.

"Is it on our route?" Robo added.

"Yes, it's on the way, but I don't think we need to stop for anything. I for one am done with soldiers."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They did stop. The trip was long on foot, and they (with the exception of Nadia) hadn't really slept in over 24 hours. So they had blindly followed the soldiers because they could not remember where they were going. In fact, they didn't even realize they had come upon Dorino until they were in the inn. The stench of sweaty men and alcohol brought them to their senses, or at least to a degree of sense. It was difficult to tell who was who in the low light and constant yelling and clanging of glasses, but Chrono guessed his friends were somewhere nearby. He groped one on the shoulder. "Let go of me, you drunken fool!" Nope. Definitely not Nadia. It could have been Lucca, if she were a man.

Chrono stumbled up to the counter. "I need a room for four, please," he said just loud enough to be heard over the din.

The voice on the other end was friendly and rational. "Boy, this is the bar. Rooms are behind you."

Chrono turned around. "I need a room for four, please."

"Certainly, for 6 gold coins," came a gentlemanly voice that Chrono assumed to be from a man on the other end. All he could see was a silhouette. "Boy?"

"Hm… oh." He grabbed the brown sack on his belt, hoping there was still money in it. No luck – the bag was torn in two.

"I'll pay," a voice came from behind. Lucca. So someone was still with him. He saw an arm go by his head, and heard the clatter of change. Next he felt a key being placed in his hand.

"Boy, you'll be going up one staircase and into the door on your right." When Chrono didn't move, the man behind the counter added, "the staircase will be to your left. That way. _That way_."

Lucca (if it was Lucca) grabbed his upper arm and dragged him across the room. "Come on, I don't want to carry you up the stairs too." She set him on his feet, and he slowly began the climb. The steps were the only part of the room illuminated, making them seem more dangerous. The first one groaned under Chrono's foot. He hesitated a moment before putting the other one on. The next step groaned even more – he felt like some sort of beast trampling on prey. Each step creaked and whined more than the last, and they all seemed to grow taller and farther apart, so Chrono had to practically lift himself up the final one.

He tried several doors before the key fit. "First one, he said."

"I'm sure he meant the first one from the stairs, not the first one you tried," came Lucca's response. "Now I'm as tired as you. Get in, you're in the way."

Chrono stumbled into the room. There was almost no light. The sun had almost completely set, and only few red streaks of sunlight shone through the greasy window, revealing a well-kept but old wood room with two large beds. _I said for four – sleeping arrangements are going to be interesting._ "Okay, I'll fight you for a bed."

"Ladies first," Lucca replied.

"I am a machine. I do not sleep, but I can be switched off if some of my wiring is disconnected." Robo. So he had been with them the whole time as well. That just left Nadia, who, when Chrono looked around again, he could not find anywhere.

"Never mind, then. We each get one." Chrono had barely finished the statement when he leapt for the first bed. Only his front half actually landed on the bed, and it wasn't exactly soft and comfortable. He lay for a moment to let his head clear before wiggling onto the mat and pulling the old, thick blanket over his head. He closed his eyes and was asleep before he could hear Lucca laughing.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He woke remembering every detail of his dream. That was not difficult, because the dream was every detail about the previous day's battle. Every sight and sound, and stench, was amplified ten times until Chrono could see individual hairs on the zombies, and hear each shriek of a dying soldier. He shook his head vigorously, as if that would release his thoughts. That didn't work so well. He found them turning over and over in his mind, and once again he vowed silently that he would do anything to rid the world of Lavos – for he was beginning to believe Lavos to be the cause of all death, wars, and sickness.

"Ah, you have slept long." Robo was standing by the door.

Chrono's response came out a little more gruff than he intended. "Good morning to you, too, Robo."

"It is almost afternoon, and the three of you should be well rested. I know I am."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door – just one – and Toma cracked it open an inch. "You awake yet?"

"Now we are." Chrono looked to see Nadia and Lucca crawling out of the bed.

"Get yourselves dressed and come! You won't believe what's finally happened!" And with that he slammed the door shut. They all heard every step of his as he thumped down the stairs.

There was no need to get dressed, as none of them had undressed the night before. So they walked out and headed downstairs. Chrono noticed they were all feeling much better than before, and showed no sign of yesterday's battle. Nadia was even walking upright, and almost – Chrono could feel it – with a spring in her step. Lucca walked taller than usual as well. But missing was her normal air of superiority - _thank goodness_. Maybe the girls were beginning to see things the way he had.

He forgot all about it the moment he got downstairs. Just like the night before, the room was filled with men of all sizes, mostly large, who were shouting for more beer, better women, arguing with neighbors, or just shouting because they could.

Toma found them right away. "You will not believe what has finally happened!"

Lucca took it by the pause it was time to respond. "What is it?"

"The Hero has appeared!"

"Who?" Chrono yelled back before Lucca elbowed him in the ribs. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

"The Hero!"

"Oh… I thought you said… er, the Ear has appeared!"

"Hero! The Hero has finally appeared, and he is coming to Dorino later today! To think all of history has waited thousands of years for now! You have to stay!"

Lucca jumped in. "No please, really, we must be…"

"Follow!"

Toma almost dragged Chrono through the crowd, forcing the others to tag along or get lost. The further they went it, the less air there was, until suddenly they emerged in the light – the outdoors. The town itself looked very nice, and down-to-earth. Chrono would never have known from the condition of the inn. The streets weren't paved and the houses didn't have much in the way of windows, but the atmosphere was fresh and the people looked inviting, or at least sane. They all noticed the group that had just gone out of the inn, for Chrono's party were the only ones wearing a color besides brown. That was interesting to them.

Or at least to one. "Tomaaaaaaa!"

Everyone turned to see a short, stout, old woman running along the dirt towards them. They all stepped back except for Toma, who took several large steps back.

"Toma!" The woman barreled into the big man, gasping and panting. "How dare you! How dare you! How dare you!"

"I…" the big man tried to say before the woman squeezed him so hard Chrono could hear joints snapping.

"You go missing and the next thing we hear you are conscripted to the royal army! How dare you!"

"This…" Toma gasped between hugs, "this is my mother."

"I apologize," the woman said to the others, "this man is in trouble." Then, to her son, "come home. You have not seen your father for two years!"

"Mother…" Toma looked embarrassed to say it. "Mother, I cannot go home now. The Hero is here! Guardia is saved! I will be a part of the conquering army! I will not wander any longer! I will come home a hero... some other day."

The woman was unmoved. "Come, we have a table ready. We have _two_ tables. Please, bring your friends. Bring everybody! My son has returned!"

Lucca poked Chrono to get his attention. "We can't do this!" she hissed. "We're not here for some mythical Hero. History, remember?"

"Play along," Chrono hissed back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, that went well. I'm sort of glad that whole battle scene is over, because I'm not so good at writing the action sequences. They all start to sound like "and then so-and-so hit such-and-such, and he beat him on the head until he died." So I feel more at home with the character work (which is unfortunately very dull to readers who audaciously expect a plot).

I'm anxious for reviews, as I've mentioned in every author's note. Don't worry that I won't be correcting any errors now. I'm trying to complete this whole story before I start editing myself (I know this is a repeat) because if I start editing, I'll never ever ever ever finish. But I will go back through all the reviews for each chapter I want to correct, and look _for specific_ things to fix. I want specific things like "This character is not developed enough to do x at this point," or "Why would so-and-so do x if he did y in the last chapter," or "You could go further with xyz because it's really cool and you completely forgot about it." I won't like reviews that say "Change x and your plot is bad." Although there is a certain pleasure to getting flamed. Rarely ever do I get funny reviews.

My concerns for this chapter: is this just slogging through plot points? In other words, can I get through this stuff faster? I mean, in my head I have the map of what should happen in what order, but sometimes I miss things that could go together, or I just ramble on and on about things that don't really matter. Of course I realize you don't know where I'm going, so I'm not asking you to validate all those parts when I go "off book," especially because the whole chapter is "off book."

Anyway, my next update may be slow in coming, because my teachers may actually start assigning homework.


	35. XVI: The Hero Appears

**Chapter XVI: The Hero Appears**

Lucca pulled the others back a bit as they walked to Toma's place. "Listen," she whispered. "We stay one night, all right? But then it's back to work. No Hero."

"Why not?" Nadia replied, a little too loudly. The others shushed her.

"I don't have time for this… listen, it doesn't matter if there's a Hero or if there's not, our mission doesn't change at all!"

"But there is a Hero!"

"Yeah," Chrono added. "I remember it too, Lucca."

"The Hero was fictional, all right? The only reason people think he existed is because of a stupid prophecy that people thought came true 400 years ago… today. No one saw the Hero defeat Magus. No one saw him after the War. In fact, very few people saw him at all."

"That's not true," Nadia growled. "Lots of people saw."

Chrono cut them off. "Lucca! I don't care what the history books say anymore. You even said they changed. How do we know the Hero doesn't exist in this new history we created?"

"I've read both, remember?"

There was a pause as Lucca's words sank in. Then Robo spoke up. "Miss Lucca – "

"I told you not to call me that."

"Sorry, but Chrono is right. We have seen history change around us, and we have seen every detail of it, far more than what the historians know. Would it be more logical, then, to trust in what happens before us instead of in people who will not be born for 350 more years? After all, it was our devotion to keeping history unchanged that caused us to nearly destroy the future in the first place."

Lucca seemed at a loss for words. "Fine. You win. We'll check it out. But if I'm right, you all owe me big."

She and Robo picked up their pace until they were even with Toma and Mama. Nadia was about to go, but Chrono stopped her. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, you look like you haven't slept in days. You don't look so… you. Are you just tired from… you know…"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not."

Chrono didn't noticed the others had stopped, and he walked right into Lucca. "Hey!" He apologized quickly.

They were standing in front of a small house – a cabin, really. It was only one story. Instead of windows, there were square holes in the logs, and instead of a door there was a rectangular hole with a curtain draped in front. Why they draped a curtain in the door, and not over the windows, Chrono couldn't tell. He guessed there was nothing inside worth stealing, at least not anymore. What was most startling to him, though, was the fact that such a famous man from history had to deal with these living conditions. This was Toma's house? Toma, the famous explorer and discoverer of ancient artifacts?

With a flip of her wrist, Toma's mother motioned for them to follow her inside. But they didn't get within ten feet of the door before about six people burst out to meet them – all of them staring at Toma. The explorer's face turned white. "Son!" the tallest man cried, rushing to embrace him. Toma didn't look comfortable in his father's arms, and he looked less comfortable knowing the others had crowded around and were waiting for their turn. "How fortunate you should return today, when your sister and her family are all here to see the Hero! Two miracles in one day!" Next in line must have been the sister, for she had Toma's large build and seemed just as uncomfortable with all the display of affection. Alongside her was a thin, clean-cut man and three young girls, all of whom wore expressions of shock. Oh, and they all had to look up to see his face.

After the brief introduction, everyone was led into the house. Chrono was surprised, to say the least, that the inside was in such good condition. Granted, it was a bit darker because there was less sunlight, and so his vision wasn't as clear. But the tablecloth looked clean and white (or gray) and the table was already set with stone plates and silverware. There were two pitchers filled with water, though Chrono had to admit the water didn't look very fresh and clean. And the table was only set for seven.

"We'll make room," Toma's father said as he noticed everyone's faces. "I'll prepare some mats in the other room. But Toma, for you – my seat at the head of the table!" Toma smiled politely as his father proudly pulled the chair out and gestured. The other family members sat themselves around the table, all save the brother-in-law, who graciously volunteered to be seated in the other room. Then Toma's father turned to his guests, whom he had seen but never really noticed until now. Chrono, Nadia, and Lucca didn't bother him as much as Robo. The excited expression just washed off his face, though he tried to still appear cordial. He rubbed a balding head and gestured to the other room, and watched Robo in fascination as the machine walked out with the others.

"That is amazing. Toma, does your friend ever remove his armor?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono had to admit – he found the meal the most satisfying he had ever had since leaving home. Perhaps it was because this was the safest place he had had a meal. It definitely wasn't because the food was excellent. When it came to culinary skills, Chrono never thought higher of anyone than his own mother anyway.

But thinking about home only made him feel empty again. When would he see his home again – and would it look the same? Everything felt so different now. He saw each second, each moment, in a new way. Now he noticed things, things about life, things about himself, where a year ago he would have gone on ignoring. He thought of his home again, and how he had moved out on his own. Did his mother feel the same way about him that he felt about her? Maybe she had thought she'd never see him again at one point.

He felt his eyes getting a bit watery, so he wiped them with his sleeve and turned his attention back to the food.

"Are you sleepy already?" Chrono looked up. It was the brother-in-law.

"No, no… well, actually, a little. I had a busy day yesterday."

"What?" the other man bellowed, looking indignant all of a sudden. "I never heard of such a stoic! I would imagine any man who had fought against a skeletal monster would bravely admit that he were exhausted! I know if I had crossed my lot with that army of the mystics, and I had come out standing, I would be shouting to the world 'I am weary, I am short of blood, for I have spilled it all on the corpses of my enemies!' and I would have them all look at me, scratched up from head to toe. My prize would be my wounds, you know, and I'd make sure every scar was saved in the annals of Guardia. People would say 'look, that's where he was sliced by a mystic sword. All because he stood bravely for his King.' Sometimes I wish I were still a soldier."

Chrono just grimaced.

"No? Well, you're every bit as stoic as that fool Toma makes you out to be. I had thought he was lying when he talked about you. I hope you know he does that to everybody."

"I can't say I know the man."

"Good. He's a lot of fun and handy when there's work to be done. But he can't be trusted. It can't be helped, I suppose. He got it into his head that his home was in the woods or something, and just disappeared. He comes back today talking about war, and the Hero, and some Shell or treasure he's been obsessing about ever since he got into ancient writings and myths." With that, he went right back to eating his food. Chrono noticed his table manners was glad to see that somebody in the family seemed cultured.

The meal went on in silence for a while. Or at least, no one in the room said anything. But the commotion in the dining room was enough that Chrono was sure his mother could hear it, all the way in the future. And then he started thinking about his mother again, and how she stayed up for three days while he was in prison, waiting for him to be released, and her face when he returned… so he changed the subject.

"Tell me about this Hero," he began. "I mean, have you seen him?"

"No, but I've heard," was all the other man said.

"Okay. What have you heard?"

He seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I don't like him. He may be a hero, but I have to admit I'm skeptical. I've read all the prophecies, too, so don't try to quote them. I'll tell you – and don't tell my wife now – he's a fake."

Chrono shot a glance at Lucca, across the room. She just looked back in puzzlement. "So then," he continued, "he's going to be here?"

"Yes. Tomorrow. My wife is going, but I'm not. If he's the real Hero, I want to see him paraded through the streets with Magus's bloodied head in his hands. Sorry – I don't really want to see that. You understand me nonetheless?"

"Sure. I was just thinking anyway – if I could see him myself."

"If you want – but you'll have to be at the main road early. The main street will be full of men and women long before the 'Hero' makes his glorious appearance. Now if you will excuse me, I require more wine. Oh, sorry, I am mistaken – water. Glad to have met you, sir…"

"Chrono."

"Hm. The name is familiar to me. I can't imagine why. Mine will not be to you, though – Marco. See? Not a glimmer of recognition. Good-night, Sir Chrono." Marco gave him a nod and then made his way to the dining room.

As soon as he was gone, Robo came and sat next to Chrono. "I did not want to interrupt, but I am becoming… what is the right word… bored. Yes, the ladies are not in the mood to talk, so I have had to play popular songs from the 800s to myself. I memorized them all when I lived at Lucca's. Some of them are surprisingly intricate."

"That's wonderful, Robo," Chrono said half-interestedly.

"Have you decided what we will do about the Hero? Sorry, but I overheard you talking about him."

"Yes. If we want to see him, we'll have to get up early and go to the main road. That's all I know."

"Certainly. I can wake you all at an appointed time. Say, a little after dawn?"

"Sure." Chrono played with the meat on his plate a little bit. "Listen, I'm done for today. Let's get back to the inn and get ready. We'll have to be asleep pretty early for tomorrow."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning came far too quickly. And still the "street" was overcrowded with people. Who were they going to see, a hero or an icon? They were all jabbering amongst themselves, each guessing when the fabled man would arrive, how he would be hailed, how he would walk, talk, look, act. Chrono couldn't hear anyone who had the same opinion. But even with all the disagreement, the people were so friendly to one another. Something about the times brought them together. _Or_, Chrono couldn't help but think, _finally they have a reason to be friendly_.

He focused his attention back on his friends, who appeared to be asleep on their feet. Nadia was the most tired of all, having been up far too early due to a bad dream. Her sagging eyes were closed and all her limbs were limp, and she rested her head on Lucca, who was not exactly thrilled to be a headrest. But then, Lucca wasn't exactly thrilled with anything that morning. She had already mentioned several times that they shouldn't even be here – they should be continuing their mission – there was no more time, and so on and so on. Of course everyone else kept saying "_this _is our mission." She wouldn't listen, though, until Robo spoke to her. Lucca still registered shock every time Robo would out-think her, as if he had somehow betrayed her. The fact that she had taught Robo everything and encouraged him to learn made the "betrayal" more like poetic justice in Chrono's mind.

"It is nearly noon time," Robo blurted. The others hardly heard him, so he repeated his observation. "We have been standing here for four hours. I may not require nourishment and rest, but you do. How much longer will the Hero wait?"

It turned out Robo's comment was uncannily timed. For the moment he was silent, there was a stir in the crowd a little farther up the path. Then a hush, and a trumpet blast. Or rather, a trumpet squeak. The musicians were new recruits, obviously. But everyone gasped with delight as if a battle cry had been played. Then there were shrieks and yelps of admiration – which were immediately drowned out by dead silence. Chrono craned his neck, but couldn't see what the sudden silence was about. The Hero was still far down the road. But he could hear something shouted across the way:

_And when the darkness falls,  
__And evil comes to destroy the earth,  
__There will come from the South,  
__A man who will be called a hero,  
__He will have around his neck the medallion of the Sun  
__To prove he is who was called,  
__And in his hand will be a sword of fire  
__To strike the enemy and undo him forever._

Lucca choked back bitter laughter. "Now we have that out of the way. What do they do, scream the prophecy everywhere the Hero goes?"

Chrono just kept craning his neck until finally he could make out the figures in the distance. In the lead, the one who had likely been "prophesying," was a thin, bony, balding man. He carried himself upright, his pointed nose piercing the air – the same nose he had apparently shouted through. How he managed to be heard from so far away was a mystery. But he could certainly be seen. He wore brightly colored, laced clothes which cost more gold than the king himself could likely afford. And on his feet – two frightening yellow pointed shoes. Surprising that such a clean set of clothes could hold such a dirty-looking man.

But that man wasn't what surprised Chrono the most. Now he looked to the figure on the man's right. More accurately, he looked to the man's right and slightly downwards, for the person on the side was almost half as tall.

It was a boy! This Hero was a little boy!

He was wrapped so thick in royal cloths that almost his whole face was covered. Chrono could see a mess of black hair, black eyes (they could have been brown, but the boy wasn't close enough yet for Chrono to tell), and then red cloth all the way down. Pinned to the cloth was what could only have been the medallion spoken of in the prophecy. No wonder they said it was "of the Sun." The medal reflected light so well it nearly blinded the whole crowd. It was almost enough for Chrono to have believed in the boy right then… except for the "sword of fire." The boy was holding a sword that was _really_ on fire. He held it at great length from his body, though he tried to act as if he was totally in control of the flames and was ready to fight if mystics suddenly appeared.

"That's real subtle," Lucca groaned loud enough for everyone to hear. Then, to Chrono, "see? There's your blessed 'Hero.' This is a waste of time. Let's get out of here."

Just then the man in the fancy clothes stopped the procession. Everything was close enough for Chrono to see. There were several people in the line, each of whom had royal dress. Very tacky royal dress. And behind them was a horse-drawn wagon, which also pulled a raised wooden platform. The fancy man got on this platform and began to speak.

"Behold! The Hero!" The words sounded profane coming out of him. "Do you not take my word seriously?" _Yes._ "So the Hero is a child! Did someone say to you 'the Hero must be of an age'? No! Only that he would be a man – and this child has become a man today!" He paused as if expecting a cheer. His audience only waited. "Before you is the fulfillment of thousands upon thousands of years of prophecy. Behold the boy! His youthfulness will save us all, for he has yet to see failure! And he will never see failure! It is not the Guardian Army that will save us, nay, nor the King, nor God, nor man, nor beast – but this boy! But I bring an urgent request before you. For though he is valiant, the boy is unprepared for the challenge that awaits him. He has the medallion. And he has the sword. But will that be enough to take on the great sorcerer that is Magus? No. I petition you – no, I urge you – to join me… and the boy. Follow us and follow him to victory! He requires your support, and your names shall all be remembered in the sacred Book as the ones who gave all to serve the greatest cause in history! Hail the Hero!"

Now the crowd cheered, and with no restraint. Chrono and Lucca both plugged their ears, and Nadia perked up finally as if given an electric shock. Robo just twisted his head around, either because he did not understand, or more likely because he understood everything perfectly.

"I can't take any more of this – " Lucca screeched over the crowd, but Chrono missed the last few words. He was probably fortunate for that.

"Isn't that the real prophecy though?"

"Sure. Word for word. But honestly, Chrono, it's so vague that it could apply to _anybody_. And the prophecy comes from thousands of years ago."

"Yes, but he does have the medal!"

"Which was forged a few hundred years ago and changed ownership many, many times during the period in which we know about it. The hero could have been whoever this kid got it from, or whoever gets it next. Oh, and the prophecy says 'sword _of_ fire,' not 'sword _on_ fire.' How stupid do they think we are?"

"Very! So it's a hoax. I'm sure we can find out more. I vote we stick with the Hero's troupe and follow him around. See what he does. We just might, you know, get another clue."

"Then we'll vote when we get back to the inn tonight. But you know I'm already going to say no."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nadia and Robo said yes.

"Not fair," Lucca muttered sardonically. "We'll follow the Hero, then, to his untimely demise, if we have to?"

"No, not at all," Robo replied, totally serious. "We are merely going to study the Hero and analyze how the history fits in with our plan. After all, you are the one most interested in keeping history in balance. We are simply trying to keep that balance."

She just held up her hands in mock surrender. "You're right, you're right, you're _always_ right."

"Thank you. I studied a lot while you housed me."

"So," Chrono interjected, desperate for a change of pace. "We'll get up nice and early again tomorrow, and trek with the… er, 'Hero' and his converts, on his little route south to Porre. Shouldn't be so bad. We were going there already, anyway. Now we'll have company."

"Yes. A child wielding a flaming sword. Enthralling."

"Come on, Lucca. You could at least _pretend_ it's an adventure."

"Not funny. Not funny anymore."

There was a profound silence as everyone remembered the recent battle. _Will we ever get over it?_ "Never mind. I'm ready for bed if you are." After another full meal at Toma's, he could think of nothing but sleep.

"Good night, then." Lucca went to her bed and was immediately out. Robo just went to one of the chairs by the window and stared, deep in thought. Nadia didn't move, though.

"Nadia? Are you all right?" Chrono remembered she hadn't said two words all night. "I mean, are you really sure?"

"Yes. I'm fine," was the curt response.

"No, you're not."

"Just don't talk to me." And with that she hopped in bed.

Chrono remembered hearing crying sometime during the night.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay! The quickest update in a LONG time.

Anyway, concern no. 1: The prophecy. Yes, for those of you who know the game (if you don't, just skip this part), I tried to make this sound like it came from long, long ago. Like the Kingdom of Zeal long ago. I think it could draw some interesting parallels. So it had to be a little more vague than the game (actually there is no prophecy in the game - only a legend), which basically said the Hero appeared and had the Hero medal. No one says what the thing looks like. I looked at the Square Art, but I'm not too sure if I want to go that way - after all, what is the likelihood of only _one_ of those being forged, and it being forged with no knowledge of the prophecy?

So, long story short, I'm worried about the language of "medallion of the Sun." Since I haven't yet described what's on the medal, I can still choose between an actual medal with a sun on it, or a medal so bright it's like the sun, or, if I want to be real obscure, a medal made of the Sun Stone itself (people from Zeal would have thought the medallion to be the third one anyway). And the sword of fire is poetic, but also - I hope I don't give away too much of my plans - implies the look and color of the sword. The Masamune is made of a bright red rock... and there is also one other weapon later on that is Red. Okay, let that one stir around in the noodle for a while.

Concern no. 2: Fiona and Marco. The only thing I've really changed so far is I brought Marco back earlier (oh, and I put him in Toma's family). Don't ask about my logic for this. It was all quite random... but the reason for all this family stuff is for Chrono and the gang to develop a relationship with Toma (for the Rainbow Shell, of course) and Fiona/Marco (for the Sunken Desert and Campfire sequence). And because I don't have a clue how those later sequences will go, these earlier scenes seem sort of unrelated to the story. At least to me. You can just write off on how confused you were as to the relevance of this chapter.

That's all I want to talk about. Just thank me I was in the mood to write so quickly and put off studying. I will blame you guys for any bad grades I get.


	36. XVI: The Hero Appears 2

**The Hero Appears**

"Father, I want to go home."

"Home? Yes, child, we will go home in a little while."

"But Father, I want to go home _now_."

"Tata, listen to me." He knelt down so he could look his child in the eyes – the eyes as brown and deep as his own. "Tata… we cannot go home, not yet. You're a hero. The people need to see you."

The child set his face in a cold frown. "I'm not the Hero! Not until I have the sword of fire!"

"But you do have the sword, my little hero," the father said, taking Tata's hands in his own.

"Stop it! Stop it! The sword's not real! I want the real sword!"

"Shh… shh." He shushed the child. "I promise I'll get you the sword, and you can be the Hero. But not yet. The people need you. They need something to believe in. Something to see, to touch, to love. The kingdom has been at war for so long we've lost all hope without you, Tata. You can save us."

"Father…"

"Shh… let's not hear any more of this. I'll take you to bed."

"No! No! No! Take me home! I'm tired of these old people following us around! I'm the Hero! I want the sword of fire!"

"Tata! Quiet!"

"The sword! You've kept it from me! You don't want me to be the Hero! You just want gold and silver and money! You're keeping me from fulfilling my destiny, you old – "

The air suddenly resounded with a slap, and Tata put a hand to his cheek.

"See there, child, honor your father! I won't have you mock me!"

"I can say what I please!" There was another smack, and Tata covered his face both to hide his watering eyes and the following two blows. "Father, please! Stop!"

"There! A child should know his place! Now be quiet and go to bed before I punish you again!"

Tata took his time responding and chose his words carefully. "Promise me we'll go home. Promise me I'll have my sword of fire."

"In time, child."

"Now, father! You always keep everything from me! You always kept… you always kept the money to yourself, and you spent it on evil things and left mother and I – "

He was expecting the next blow, but he didn't realize just how loud and painful it would be. And when he looked into his father's eyes, he was surprised to see them blurred with tears. In the next moment he felt his father's arms grasp his, as if the man were clinging to him for dear life. "Tata! Shush yourself! Please… for your dear departed mother's sake. Listen to me. If not for me, then for her. It's what she would have wanted. We… you _can't_ fail now. For her sake, stay with me. Then we can go home, child." The last few words were slow to come. "I… I promised your mother I would take care of you, I did." Then the father took his son into a tight embrace.

"Will we ever go home again, Father?"

"Hush, child."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Robo awoke everyone the following morning and had them down on the main road not long after the sun rose. The air was painfully crisp and fresh, the way it is the morning before everyone has started breathing it. Chrono was refreshed by the chill, and he thought the girls were equally renewed. Nadia still looked a little disturbed, but Chrono didn't want to ask too much about it. After all, she seemed to also want to forget what had happened between them the previous night. "So," Lucca began, breaking the silence in the air. It sounded profane, and she knew it. "Where has the Hero gone this morning, and how shall we keep up with him now?" Though she probably meant to be sarcastic, she came off more genuine than she had in a long while. But her words brought everyone back down to reality, and they thought again of the mission set before them. _Another moment gone,_ Chrono mused, _They seem to get shorter every day_.

It wasn't long before they had found the Hero's gathering spot. They heard it long before they saw it, anyway. A crowd had already gathered at the foot of a long wooden platform, where the Hero stood. At least, they assumed the Hero stood there – only the front row could tell for sure. But they all saw the father, dressed up again in his pomp and majesty, delivering the message to the people.

Chrono only caught the last bit of it – "and everyone shall know the Hero for who he is! To all who would go with us: there is no time for preparation, for the time is now." Then the crowds erupted in cheering again, a compulsive screeching out of courtesy rather than true excitement. Then the Hero and father stepped off the platform, the crowd parting respectfully to let them pass. A few of them broke free and followed.

When the cheering died down, Chrono felt a jab in his ribs. "Come on, if we're going to get anywhere, now's the time." Lucca grabbed his arm and started dragging him away, though she didn't need to, because Chrono was perfectly willing and able to walk himself. He twisted his head around to see where the others were and caught a glimpse of Nadia and Robo by the platform, seemingly in conversation. They'd have to miss out on what happened next.

Lucca sort of led Chrono along with the crowd as they all followed the Hero to the middle of a clearing.

"People," began the father. _Goodness, does the Hero ever talk?_ "You are those willing to follow the Hero? To give your time, your labor, maybe even your lives, to see prophecy fulfilled?" The crowd didn't say anything. "Very good, then. We have a long march back south, to Porre. Anyone who is unable or unwilling to make the journey may go, and no one is a lesser man for doing so." No one moved. "We'll begin. Don't worry about food or clothing. If the Hero can slay a sorcerer such as Magus the great, surely he can manage to find something as trivial as provisions for a small band of travelers. If all of you wish to come, we can begin our journey today, right now. This is prophecy – and it unfolds right before your very eyes!"

There was no cheer after this speech. The people just whispered to each other and waited. During their silence, Lucca nudged Chrono again. "One of us should go get the others… I didn't realize we'd leave this soon."

"You go," Chrono whispered back. "We won't get that far ahead if we're a large group."

Lucca looked like she wanted to argue, but instead she said. "All right. We'll catch up in a couple of hours probably. Good luck, or whatever it is I'm supposed to say."

"That's good enough for now."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono found the trip terribly boring. No one really talked to each other, at least not much. The crowd seemed excited, but he just didn't feel that. He lagged behind everyone else, waiting for the moment Lucca came with the others. But two days later there was still no one.

One good thing about the trip was the free service. Everywhere the crowd stopped, there was free food and free room and board. At first he thought the Hero was picking up the tab, but after the fifth stop he guessed there was something else going on. He remembered one tavern owner proclaiming the meal a blessing toward the Hero and his quest. Chrono found it suspicious, but didn't want to speak up – at least, not yet. He just ate by himself in silence, though he didn't much like the food. And all there was to drink was some kind of ale, which tasted like pure alcohol and sugar. Chrono was not much for hard drinks anyway, so he instead drank from streams along the trail.

On the third day Chrono saw someone he recognized in one of the towns. It turned out to be Marco, and so Chrono found himself invited to a real dinner with real water at a real house on a farm, with, most importantly, peace and quiet. He was introduced to the wife, Fiona, and the children, who all shared a bedroom. The house wasn't even close to high-class, but it was spacious enough for everyone and well insulated, like a sanctuary. He noticed several small trees growing in jars in the corner, and long strands of ivy climbing up each wall. The meal also contained no trace of meat. Marco read Chrono's puzzled expression and explained that meat was hard to come by in the area, due to a fierce drought. Bread was also scarce.

Not long into the evening the topic moved to the Hero. "So then, sir Chrono," Marco said. "What brought you so far from Dorino without your sisters?"

"Oh, they're not my sisters," he replied hastily, then added "and they're on the way. I just got ahead of them. We're here for the Hero."

Marco's smile fell, and his wife just looked up and stared at him. It was she was spoke next. "I saw him up in Dorino, too. I never expected him to be a boy."

"The prophecy does say he's a boy," Marco cut in.

"Yes, I know that much, but he's so young! And he looked so… foreign. Like he belonged somewhere else, and knew it, deep down, that he didn't belong. I don't think he ever took that cloak from around his head! The poor child – One day I had imagined if it were my boy up there… I would always be proud, you see. But he's not ready. Prophecy or no prophecy, a mere child doesn't expect to conquer a mad sorcerer."

"Right," Marco agreed, though Chrono thought he wanted to say more.

"Think of his family, Marco – what would you do if our son were the Hero? Would you parade him through all the kingdom? Or would you wait until he were grown?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

There was a momentary pause, which Chrono took to speak. "And what if he's not the Hero?" Neither responded, so he tried again. "What if the boy is not the real Hero like everyone believes? What then?"

Fiona responded, very tense. "The boy fulfills the prophecy, does he not?"

"Yes, he does have the medallion, but he doesn't really have the sword. That thing is not real. He must have doused it in some kind of oil and ignited it before making his appearance."

Marco answered next. "True, true. I've often thought this was a hoax – " his wife gave him a look of shock " – and rightly so, Fiona. But it's something to believe in, I suppose. That is, for the others."

"I believe him," Fiona said quickly. "Prophecy is never wrong."

"Darling, prophecy is only another word for a lucky guess. It's so vague it could mean anything."

"Listen," Chrono broke in, "how about we make a compromise. We don't think one way or the other until the prophecy is fulfilled, right? So why don't we wait? Why place so much, well, faith in the boy?"

All of them were silent for a while. The sun was almost below the horizon, and the light was fading from the room. "I'll light a candle," Fiona said, excusing herself for a moment.

When she was in the other room, Marco spoke. "It's something to believe in. After seven years of war, you start looking for things to keep your hopes up. At first it was victory, but one victory led to another battle, and so on and so on until there are so many victories and defeats that nothing is exciting anymore. And they keep sending the bodies home to be buried and rot into the earth. And all the while the people become old and the children grow up, and the desert encroaches from all sides and the trees die. Have you ever seen the forest just die?"

Marco paused as if expecting an answer, but then continued. "It used to be here. This land used to be alive. It was a forest, the pride of the south actually. We built this home ourselves. Fiona and I were newly married, no older than you, and we made our own home out of the trees that used to grow right here. And as the years went on and our soldiers died, the trees died and the grass burned and the streams dried up. These are the last days, sir Chrono, they are. We have spent every moment on the preservation of the land, hoping that we could reverse the degeneration, that we could stop the sun and move the earth back in time to how it was before. You ever wish you could go back to another day?" Marco's face went blank as he stared at the far wall.

"I used to – once." Chrono thought again of his own home, his own time, and he remembered then that in the south there was nothing but desert. Fiona and Marco hadn't changed a thing.

Just then Fiona entered again, and noticing the look on her husband's face, she started. "I'm sorry. Have I interrupted you? Chrono, I'm sorry for our behavior. We're not used to arguing yet. I do hope you'll stay for the night. I'll have Marco prepare a bed."

"Thanks," Chrono replied as Marco got up and left the room.

"Don't worry about my husband's depression. He's too worried. It's an insidious disease, depression. I always try to think of my garden at times like these, and how everything dies in the Winter. But no matter how harsh the cold and the ice, the earth is green again by Spring. Every sapling is a hopeful future to me. And someday I believe the world will be green forever, if you can picture that."

_Really? I've seen the future, and it's not green. It's red_.

"Don't let us dishearten you. The Hero is here and we should all be glad." She paused as if regaining composure. "I'm sorry. I am very tired. It has been a long day. Come, let me show you to your room."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning Chrono bid farewell to his hosts and joined the group following the Hero. By then Lucca had arrived with the others, so the four of them traveled together and related the events of the past three days. Apparently Lucca had led everyone down a different trail than Chrono had walked, and so they had arrived in town the day before and had spent the night in a trashy inn to wait for the throng of people to show up. They were a little jealous that Chrono had had another good meal and plentiful rest.

Chrono was glad to see they were feeling a little better. At least, Nadia wasn't quite so irritable as before, and she smiled every now and then the way she had back when they first met. She didn't talk much, but that was understandable. What could she talk about that wouldn't bring her spirits back down again? Certainly there was something, but Nadia refused, for the moment, to see it.

They all arrived in Porre a day later. By then the following had at least tripled in size, something that obviously pleased the leader of the group and disturbed the Hero. At this point the leader spoke out and commanded the people to go throughout the town and recruit more followers. He said something more about the sword of fire, but his words of late had become more cryptic than ever and Chrono didn't bother to understand. Finally he dismissed the group and chanted the prophecy again. As the crowd thinned, heading for the various inns, Lucca mentioned how she was going to get everyone close to the Hero.

How she did it, Chrono wasn't keen on guessing. But he knew there had to have been a price, and judging by Lucca's face, it was steep. "Would you believe it? He's charging us ten times what the food is worth," she grumbled.

So that evening they all found themselves at the front door of the House of the Hero, as the townsfolk called it (or, if they were feeling poetic, the Hero's Abode). It was modestly large, as if it had used to be a hovel, but had been rebuilt recently. The walls and floors were in a terrible state of disrepair, and Chrono couldn't tell whether they had always looked like that or if they were on their way to becoming stone and gold. Some windows were fitted with glass, but some were open holes. Sometimes candles were placed in lavish stands, other times they were set on the tables. It was as if the house couldn't make up its mind which thing it wanted to be.

Strangely enough, the man who invited them in, who was also the leader of the following, was also the father of the Hero. The man had said so shortly upon their entry. If Chrono hadn't been suspicious before, he was now. And where was the boy's mother? And for that matter, where was the boy?

That question was shortly answered when the thin man bellowed "Tata! Supper!" and the boy came down, still wrapped in his robes. However, the robes were not quite as high on his face, and Chrono could make out some of the boy's features. His mouth was perpetually opened in a state of disinterest, as though it were too much work to close it. He held his chin rather high, revealing his thin cheeks and tiny neck. The boy's hair was still a mess of black, but he appeared to take a sort of pride in it, as if the mess were a part of the Heroic identity, a mess that, generations to come, would be worshipped. Chrono suddenly felt self-conscious of his own head and ran a hand through his hair, which he hadn't touched in the last week.

The boy came down rather quickly and ran to the table. He looked like he was going for the seat at the head, but he instead ran past to the seat on the right. His father got the seat at the head. After they were seated, the father invited Chrono, Lucca, and Nadia to sit. For some reason he ignored Robo. Chrono figured it was because the man couldn't figure out what to do about him. At this point no one in any town seriously believed he was wearing armor, so they just thought it one of those mysteries in life and began to ignore him.

"We are delighted for you to join us," the father said once they were all seated. "It is good to see there are devoted followers. We were under the delusion the Hero would not be recognized. After all, he is not what one would expect."

There was a pause, then Lucca spoke. "No, no, certainly not." She paused, choosing her words very carefully. "He is the least common of all heroes."

The father took a bite of meat and then continued, talking as he chewed. "Yes. It is exciting to think. Perhaps it is most exciting only for me. If any of you had children – which, I can tell, you do not – you would feel the same excitement I do that your own child is the fulfillment of prophecy. I don't know what could have made him… what he is. I am no Hero…" he paused a moment as if he had struck a nerve in himself, but he forced himself to go on. "I am no Hero, but he is. Sometimes I wonder how I had made such a child… if it were any part of mine, or if it had just been my insistence on making him finish his oatmeal in the morning. Oh, it's cheap and quick, and makes little children strong. It's a mystery, the whole prophecy. It's just luck, or "Providence," I suppose I have to say, that I was the one to have the Hero for a son."

In the following pause Chrono realized just how pointless the whole dinner was going to be. Clearly this man's interest had waned from the moment after Lucca had given him the money, and now he was trying out forms of conversation to make the night anything interesting. From the way he talked, though, it was obvious he had never conversed in his whole life.

"I do it for my wife, I suppose," the father continued. His face suddenly grew long and serious, and his voice dropped until the others could hardly hear. "She would have done better for him had she known he was a hero – nay, _the _Hero."

The boy spoke up. "Father," he said, pushing his plate away from him. "Father, I am not hungry."

"Eat your food, Tata. It will make you strong, so you can fight and save the kingdom. I paid a lot of money for that." The father sighed, then turned back to his guests. "I'm sorry. A Hero's a Hero, even though he's a child."

"All children are heroes to me," Chrono mused to himself, not caring that he was interrupting. "All children that survive becoming men, that is."

"Ah yes," the father chuckled, glad to see an actual conversation was beginning. "Your philosophy suits me. I suppose all men are heroes in their own right, unless they are just children wearing the suits of men. In that way I still have far to go… look at me, I am a leader of these people, yet I… yet the Hero is but a child and unequipped. He still has far to go."

"I just need the sword," the boy piped up between bites.

"You'll get the sword, Tata. The real sword too."

"No I won't. You've paraded me all over the kingdom when you could have let me be the Hero. I want the sword of fire. Then I'll be the Hero."

"I said you will get it. I'll send the finest explorers in world to go find it for you."

"See!" the boy shrieked suddenly. He jumped out of his seat and banged a tiny fist on the table. "You won't get it. You won't let me have it! I'm such a prophecy to you and yet I can't even have a sword. I'll tell you what I will do. I will find the sword myself, and then I will swim the whole ocean and slay the wizard myself, and I will come home myself and call _myself_ the Hero!" There was another momentary silence, then the boy pulled his robes around his face again. "I'm not hungry."

As he stomped off, his father tried to smooth things over. "He's temperamental, like his mother. Forgive him. He's still a child, and is obsessed with his sword of fire. He thinks it's a real sword, the Masamune itself. Do I look like a fool of a man as to believe I could find such a sword?"

"It is a real artifact, the Masamune," Lucca replied. "But it's been missing for many, many years." She gave Chrono a pointed look and gestured as if to say "you know what to do next." Chrono just responded with his own gesture to mean "yes," though he didn't know, hadn't known, would never know, and would just have to wait for Lucca to tell him tomorrow.

"True. And that is why we must be satisfied with the sword we have now. It is the only way to fulfill prophecy."

"Actually," Robo interjected. Upon hearing his "voice," the father jerked involuntarily. "Only having the medallion and the sword does not make a man the Hero. The Hero must also slay Magus, if I am interpreting your prophecy correctly. The sword of fire must be used to repel the darkness. Otherwise prophecy is not fulfilled."

There was a long silence, and Chrono waited for the moment they would all be kicked out in a fit of rage. But it didn't come. Instead the father just stood and walked around the table. "True. True. He only fulfills so much of the prophecy because the other events have not yet occurred. But for those that have, he completes them all. I don't mean to offend, yet I find it baseless accusation to claim my son is no Hero merely because all the events have not unfolded as predicted _yet_. Prophecy doesn't depend on _yet_, as far as I was raised to believe." At this point the man picked up one of the candles from its stand and stared into the flame as if pondering. "He is a Hero. To deny that is to deny the fire before your very eyes."

As the man stared, Chrono noticed Lucca gesture almost unnoticeably with her right hand. Instantly the flame of the candle sprung up and lit the whole room a brilliant red. The father screamed curses and pitched the candle away (Lucca made sure it was out before it touched anything flammable).

He cleared his throat before continuing. "I'm sorry. I believe I have bored you with my story. I hope you enjoyed your meal – it was the best I could afford. Please, for the Hero's sake, spread the news among the people of the city. We can't fulfill the prophecy on our own."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you're starting to understand where I'm going with this particular chain of events. Of course I won't just tell you... but if I have written well in the last few chapters you'll know. Otherwise I'll need to change a lot to make the plot a little more evident. Just let me know if this "foreshadowing" is actually foreshadowing or just filler chapters.

Also, I'll let you in on an idea, in case you're wondering why on earth the story is all of a sudden so dark. I feel that each time period has its own reigning mood. In the "Present," or 1000 A.D., the mood is peaceful, safe, secure (for the most part anyway). But in the "Middle Ages" period, it's dark and mysterious. I get that feeling just by looking at the world map (if you know the game, you will understand what I'm driving at). Hence, all the scenes take place either at early, early morning or after sundown, and those that don't are continually covered in storm clouds. Seriously, just check... any scene in that time which doesn't have those weather conditions is either an exception or a mistake. So, let me know if that sounds like a good idea. And, if you don't like how dark things are getting, just wait until the "Prehistoric" time... it's much better.


	37. XVII: Tata and the Frog

**Chapter XVII: Tata and the Frog**

Chrono awoke to the sound of hushed voices – Nadia and Robo. The strange thing about Robo's voice was its uniformity. No matter how loud or soft his voice became, he always sounded as if he spoke at conversational levels, but from different distances. That night he sounded like he was speaking in another room, yet he was standing rigidly, facing him from the other side of Nadia's bed. Chrono made sure he appeared to be asleep.

"Maybe I'm just not as strong as the others," he heard Nadia whisper.

"That is only true if you consider strength to be purely physical. In that case Chrono has a chromosomal advantage over you."

"What? I'm not talking about a physical relationship at all, Robo. If you're trying to cheer me up it's not going to work."

Chrono rolled over to face away from Robo just as he began scanning the room. "Nadia, you are not the only one in shock from the reality of war, and you're not the only one to tell me. Certainly all of us were shocked, coming from such non-violent societies, that humanity could be so – "

"I get the point, Robo. But the others seem to be just fine – Lucca gets along as usual, and you know how Chrono bottles everything up inside – "

_I do not._

" – and he never says what he's really thinking – "

_Yes I do – well, usually…_

" – so you never know what's wrong with him anyway. How come I'm the only one to feel like this? Am I just unable to, well, get over it? Do you think we'll be looking back on this in a hundred years and laugh?"

"No, but – "

"People died… I mean, yes, of course they died, but they died in front of me, and it was up to me to, well, do something about it. I was healing this one soldier – he had multiple gashes all over his body, like someone had used him to sharpen a knife, and he was almost dead, and I was there, magically sewing up his wounds, and when I was done he was dead. Somewhere in the middle he had just died. The boy looked like he died from nothing. I mean, all his wounds were gone, and his body put back together – he didn't have a mark on him. I can't get him out of my mind – every time I try to sleep, I just imagine him lying there, perfectly healthy, on a bed soaked with blood, just lying still, eyes open, closed, it never matters…" she paused for a long time. "Don't tell anyone I said anything… please."

"I promise, Nadia. I think you are strong, because you are able to see that you are weak."

_Oh, please._

"Thanks. I think I feel better… maybe… good night…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"This is it?" Nadia grunted.

"No… there has to be an entrance somewhere nearby." Lucca tapped her helmet a few times and started muttering to herself. "Ancient mountain… underground passageway… local rumor, map, facts…"

"Perhaps we arrived at the wrong location," Robo offered.

"No. This is the only small mountain around, and all the people say Mystics come from _here_."

"It could be just another one of those myths about Magus," Chrono suggested weakly, then continued before he could stop himself, "along with the Masamune and the Hero."

Lucca glared at him for a moment. "Yes, but this passageway was recorded in several different editions of countless volumes in history. The Masamune and the Hero are mentioned as myth and they are unverified."

"I don't mean to say we're on the wrong track, here, but just because the history people write it doesn't mean it happened."

She didn't respond for a while. "Then what? We have a pathway out of some Cursed Woods leading to… nothing. No sign of a hole, a door, anything. Just a solid stone wall…"

Nadia wasted no time. "Let's go back, then. It's early and it's cold."

"_You're_ complaining that it's cold?"

Chrono raised a hand. "Hey, stop! We haven't found a door or anything right in front of us, but that doesn't mean there's not a door somewhere on this mountain."

"I do not mean to interrupt." Robo stepped in between Chrono and Lucca. "It is highly inefficient to search the entirety of the mountain with no knowledge of the entrance. By my estimation it would take us, if we split up, at least one week. Rather, we should question the village people more thoroughly. Then we may get our spirits up."

"Unless there's nothing here," Chrono jumped in. "Why don't we go back and rest anyway. We're on the wrong track. So what? We're stuck here in the godforsaken Middle Ages trying to discover the secret behind who-knows-what kinds of devilry and mythology, and we can't even find a way to access this 'hidden' island where Magus supposedly lives. But right now we have our own devilry and mythology going on with the Masamune, and with the Hero. Both of which are very closely related to this thing with Lavos. And they're both happening about an hour away. So we've wasted the first part of our morning parading out in the middle of the woods for no reason. What's our hurry?"

As if by divine timing, Chrono was answered by a sharp crack in the air. He and the others dove for cover under some nearby bushes. That's when they noticed the split in the side of the mountain, running from the top all the way to the ground where the path met the vertical face. And slowly the split widened and grew darker until they all saw something walking out of the rock wall. Another moment later they saw it was not one thing, but at least a hundred of them – all Mystics. The creatures marched out in military precision, ahead, into the Cursed Woods, until they disappeared from sight.

Chrono and the others just watched in awe as the last of them came out, and as soon as that one was out of sight, they all leapt from their hiding place and ran toward the split. But even as they ran they saw it closing it – the rock wall was coming back together. Robo halted the others and held them back as the two halves collided with another sharp crack – and slowly, the two halves started melting into each other, as if the crack were being painted over.

When it was all finished they stood silent for a few moments. Then Chrono cleared his throat. "I vote we go with my plan."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chrono didn't really have a plan. As he and the others trudged back on the road to Porre, he frantically searched his mind for some clear formula. It was obvious enough they couldn't find a way to re-open the rock wall, and now they were almost completely certain that whatever was behind that wall had to lead to Magus's castle. There were too many historical "coincidences" for it not to be what Lucca was looking for. But they hit a dead end. Instead, Chrono knew they had to follow history along its original course – but history was already no longer running on that course. _The Hero, the Hero… something to do with the Hero. And the legendary sword._ He could feel that the answer was just under his nose, but it was just too small to see. Or, it was too large to see all of it. _Once the sword and the Hero are reunited, then what do we do?_

_What can I do now but just follow the path set before me?_

"Chrono, look!" Lucca gasped, interrupting Chrono's inner monologue. He stopped staring at his feet and looked ahead to where Lucca pointed.

It was a frog – or rather, _the_ frog. Chrono knew no frog was that large… or for that matter, wore clothes. At this point he had only a vague memory of the creature from their dealings with Yakra, but one thing was for certain: this had to be the same one. The frog had noticed them, and was already giving them his arrogant glare Chrono had not missed at all. This time, however, his arrogance was misplaced, as he wore shabby brown rags and heaps of leather that could barely pass for boots. He had nothing else on him. By the looks of things he hadn't eaten well in the last few years, either.

"Sir Chrono, if memory serves me." Chrono had also not missed his deep, froggy voice. "Thy mode of stealth hath not improved since last we met."

Nobody had a good answer for that, except Robo. "Pardon me, good… sir…" he began, obviously trying to break the ice but only succeeding in breaking the silence. "We have not been properly acquainted, though you seem to know my friends well enough. I am called Robo – "

"Ah, is this thy new recruit? His suit hath seen better times."

"I am not wearing a suit. I am a machine. I am man-made, and my friends have called me Robo. And you? Do you not have a name?"

"My name was of no importance before, and so it shall be of no importance today, or any other day so long as I live. Now go, disturb me not, for I have grown weary of men." With that, the frog turned to go. "May God be with thee on they ventures, now pray let me go my way."

Until now Chrono's feet had been rooted to the path, but as the frog left, he found himself following. He convinced himself it was out of morbid curiosity rather than any kind of pity. "Are ye deaf? Have you no heads? I wish to be alone!"

Chrono kept moving forward. "I don't think so… what's going on?" Now his friends slowly began following him.

The frog did not even look back. "No. It is too late. I cannot."

"Too late for what?" Chrono panted. The frog had picked up speed, and so he had to begin jogging to catch up. "What can't you do?" He was beginning to get a strange thrill from the pursuit, almost like a power rush.

"Questions!" The frog bellowed as he whirled around, stopping everyone in their tracks. "Too many questions for me to answer. Do all the ghosts return for me at once?"

"Ghosts? We are not ghosts. You're crazy."

"'tis true," he muttered, then sat down on a nearby rock. "It has been far too long since I have spoken with your kind. Perhaps I am fortunate enough to have imagined thee. Or do you have other ghosts with you? Queen Leene, perhaps? Nay, or even the great Sir Cyrus! I have strayed too long, Cyrus!"

Chrono paused for a moment to rub his forehead. "Look, we're not ghosts. I'm real. I've just been away for a long time. Who am I kidding – I'm talking to a frog! You're wasting my time."

"Aye. So it would seem. But if there is one truth I have learned in all my years, I know that chance and opportunity are brothers. There are no unused threads in the tapestry of time. Even a ghost may be a rescuer. Thou might be speaking to an abomination of nature, but I speak with a figment."

By this time the others had caught up, and Lucca spoke up. "Chrono, we're not here to goof off. You're the one with the high-and-mighty plan now, so let's see it."

"Ah, so thou art the leader of this children's parade. Thou hast greatly improved thy presence since last we met. Alas, it would be humorous if not for my own descent into… into what you see before you." The frog made a sweeping gesture with one hand as if to display his tiny body – but he instead revealed a long gash on the inner part of his arm.

Nadia gasped and took a step toward him. "You're bleeding!"

"Aye! Proof that I hath slain nine – nay – ten cursed mystics. Thou wouldst be lucky to survive such an attack… what? Woman, touch me not! I said away with ye!"

Nadia had continued approaching as he spoke. As she reached for him, he pulled back in fright. With her hands outstretched, she did indeed look rather ghostly, but even then his fear seemed unwarranted. "I'm not going to hurt you, but if you don't quit moving around so much I might. Hold still!"

The frog fought her a little bit, but couldn't do much, mostly because (Chrono guessed) he was dealing with a lady and was bound by honor to be respectful. Finally, though, Nadia got her hands around his arm. The frog definitely looked uncomfortable, but not compared to Nadia's extreme disgust at having to touch his slick green skin. The only thing keeping her hands on his arm was her own sense and kindness (or so Chrono guessed). The frog kept squirming and writhing in mental agony for another few seconds, then immediately relaxed and stared at his own arm. Where Nadia's hands had been, his skin had come together completely, until there was no sign of any mark. And the places she had not touched slowly began to close themselves like curtain flaps, pulling the drying black blood inside with them. The frog held out his arm for nearly a minute, his mouth partially open, and then he slowly turned his gaze to Nadia. She seemed as astonished as he.

"Not ghosts," he managed to stammer out after a few moments. "Angelic hosts! Spirits! I cannot fathom…"

"We aren't spirits either," Nadia said flatly, suppressing a giggle.

"Of course, of course… 'tis impossible!"

"We're not special."

"You are sent by God Himself! 'tis only logical – for no man is born – woman – give me a seat." He promptly plopped down on a nearby stump. "Aye, this was my sign that the prophecies would be fulfilled."

Chrono perked up at those last words. "Prophecies?"

The frog only stared back, visibly perplexed by the boy's sudden interest. "Wonders. Signs. The day is fast approaching!" He almost stood up, but then sighed and bowed his head. "Alas that I was too weak to continue. I hath done what I could. At least I can rest knowing I was not in error, that the Hero lives, that his sword shall be claimed, and that the darkness will be destroyed."

"Wait a minute – hold it right there!" Chrono took a step toward the frog. "The Hero?"

"Aye, the poor soul. Such a heavy burden for a small boy… if only I were fortunate enough to be called with him. But alas, the hero I am not. I can do naught."

"Why not?" Chrono felt his heart beating against his chest.

"Art thou blind!? Can thou not see what is before you? I am cursed like the mystics – my soul was slain on Denadoro. It would have been better for the world had my body been slain as well. I am sorry. Do not hold my weakness against me, for I am only mortal. I have seen what I was meant to see. Leave me now, for I am content."

"Sure. Go in peace, I guess," Chrono shrugged, trying to appear casual. But he was beginning to see things for what they were – or at least he was getting a glimpse at something. The frog bowed to him, and he returned the gesture. Then the creature went forlornly on his way, enough to make Chrono cringe.

The four of them remained silent for a moment, then Robo spoke. "If someone would please inform me as to what happened, I would be grateful."

"I'll let you know once I find out myself."

"Does he really think we're some kind of magical spirits?" Nadia blurted.

"Does it matter?" Lucca answered. "We kind of are. Now let's get moving. We've wasted enough time already. Chrono?"

"I've got it."

"Oh no you don't. Not what I think you've got."

"Oh yes."

"Remember? We're supposed to stay out of history's way. That dumb creature just imagined it all… we're not the Hero, we're not a part of the prophecy, and we're not a sign of anything."

"We are now," Chrono said. "Remember what he said? Chance and opportunity are family?"

"Brothers."

"Right. Nothing is coincidence? Well I don't know about you, but I've seen way too many of these 'coincidences.' I've got some signs of my own. So the Hero was some made up little slogan to get people all riled up, right? Well, we'll give them a Hero – several Heroes, in fact. We'll give them a sword. And we'll give them a battle against the darkness. Who knows, maybe we'll find what we're looking for. We certainly haven't got anywhere 'staying out of history's way,' haven't we?"

"But – " Lucca could say no more. Just by looking in her eyes Chrono could see he had her beat. He also knew he had her support (eventually). And if he had Lucca's all, he definitely had the others'. He couldn't help but feel a little swelling in his chest.

"Chrono is right," Robo said, breaking the silence again. "I think I understand it now. We cannot control history. We are history. We make history."

Lucca sighed and gritted her teeth. "Let's make history, then."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally, an update. Anyway, I've just been getting over some severe writer's block for this section and I'm still unsure what I'm going to do with the next one, so I'm really concerned that you're not exactly following me anymore.

Anyway, you'll notice that I've changed the geographic features quite a bit. Mostly that's for convenience sake. In the game, it's no big deal to walk around to get everywhere, but I didn't want to have to keep changing the setting drastically every time the gang went anywhere. I mean, all the landmarks - Dorino, Porre, The Cursed Woods, The Magic Cave, etc. - are spaced as far apart as possible, such that it would take them several days just to travel between each one. So, that's my explanation.

Also, I'm busy thinking of ways to incorporate all the game and story elements together so this all feels like one story, instead of several episodes. The Hero is just one way to do that, so I'll bring those references back a lot, but I'm also going to draw some parallels in that may or may not be hinted at in the game. Who knows. Just keep your eye out for those, and perhaps let me know what you think should be paralleled. And if you're wondering why these segments of the story are getting really dark, I'll let you in on a secret... I've given each time period it's own mood, so to speak. I'll let you figure out just what that implies for each segment of the story, but that may help you in understanding just why these last chapters have featured such depressing moments.

I actually had fun working on Glenn's character for this chapter. I'm sort of reconstructing him to fit the Japanese version... which I've never played and don't know diddly about. But I've heard that Glenn's character is very different. He doesn't speak ye olde English (but I think it makes him even more outrageous so I kept it), but he is (provided my sources are telling the truth) more arrogant and tends to have an attitude. There are a couple of other Japanese elements I'll bring into this, so keep that in mind... if I'm destroying your vision of the character, I'm doing it for a reason.

Finally, I just want to warn you that some of the upcoming sequences will have plot changes that have been done before - I've seen them all in at least one other story. While I am in no way copying them (I actually thought of doing these before the other people wrote their segments) I do have to allow them some sort of credit. As I haven't written these developments, I'm not going to credit them right now, but if you're reading and you notice I wrote something that you did (two things in particular), then please know I didn't steal your idea. Not that you really care, but I did have this all in my head from the start. You just beat me to it.


	38. XVII: Tata and the Frog 2

**Tata and the Frog**

When they got back to Porre, they could tell right away that something had gone wrong. Few people were out on the street, and those that were rushed from one house to another. Even the shops were temporarily closed, with hastily written notes hanging from the doors.

Chrono stopped the first person to pass near. This woman didn't seem in interested in talking and only kept looking off to where she had been going. "Hey, what's going on?"

The woman actually looked at him for a moment, then said breathlessly, "have you not heard? The Hero has disappeared!" She then ran off, her gossiping duty done, leaving Chrono and the others to exchange looks.

They all knew where to go next. The Hero's house looked the same as before, only it felt lifeless. Everyone took turns knocking, but no one had answered at all. In fact, they could not hear any sound coming from the house. "Perhaps no one is home," Nadia suggested. But Lucca shushed her and led them all around the side of the house to the nearest window. Though the house was dark they could see the form of the Hero's father hunched at a table, head in his hands. The man was definitely distressed, but didn't seem to be crying. That was a good sign so far. He sighed loudly, but his sigh was inhibited by a tightness in his voice, so his breath almost sounded like a fit of coughing. At the sound of his own sigh he jerked involuntarily, then suddenly slammed a fist down on the table.

He seemed just as surprised at his motion as Chrono felt, and at that moment he looked up and noticed everyone outside his window. The man cocked his head in recognition and stomped his way over. "What do you want? Get out, I say! Leave me in peace!"

Leaving was the most agreeable option, but everyone felt they had to get _something_ out of the man. "Sir, the Hero?" Chrono asked awkwardly, his question hitting the man like slap.

"How dare you! Leave! What my son does is no concern of yours!"

"Actually, it is every concern of ours," Chrono countered, still unsure of what to say, just making up the words as he went along. "He is, after all, our Hero. Certainly we can be of some assistance?"

"No. You cannot help him. No one can. He has disappeared from his own bed. Gone, as if he had vanished. It is beyond our control!"

Lucca spoke up immediately. "So, he's gone to fetch the Masamune!"

The father continued hesitantly. "What did you say?"

"We're not fools. He went looking for his sword of fire, just like he thinks he should."

"The sword is a myth. What can I do about it?"

"You could go get him yourself, you beast!" Lucca flared, turning on her heels and stomping off. The others quickly followed suit, leaving the father with nothing to do but slam his fists on the windowsill.

"I think we could have handled that better," Chrono said once they were clear.

"Brute," Nadia grunted. "The kid's run off and he's cowering in a corner."

"Brute or not… that kid is beating us to our destination," Lucca pointed out.

"How would he know where the sword is?"

"It was pretty widely assumed that the mythical sword rested on Denadoro," Chrono answered. "Right, Lucca? I mean, weren't there some sort of texts on it? I remember something about it in history lessons. You're the expert. But even that frog knew about the Denadoro Mountains. That's what tipped me off."

"Everyone may have assumed. No one ever saw the sword on that mountain…" Lucca paused to chew on her lower lip, then her eyes lit up. "Except the man who discovered the sword." The others just looked at her, waiting for more (Chrono knew she loved it when that happened). "Come on, it's all part of the myth. Hidden sword of fire in the mountains – there's a whole history of it. Supposedly it was found by a knight who was later killed, and the sword was lost again. Then someone else claimed to have found the sword… come on, you _have_ to remember who we're talking about!"

"Just say it!"

"Come on! Toma, the explorer! You have to remember him – we've been in his _house_, for heaven's sake! He's the one who lays claim to finding the Masamune. Sure, he never actually proved it…"

"But now he can," Chrono finished, a smile beginning to form on his face. "Ready to change history again?"

"We're not changing it. We're just helping it along a little."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Denadoro Mountains stood far to the north, only a few miles from Dorino, so it was another long trip for everyone. But it wasn't nearly as long as the trip down on foot. Lucca's stash of coins wasn't disappearing anytime soon, and so they could easily afford a few carriage rides all the way to Dorino. They mostly slept the whole way – except for Robo, who quickly got tired of explaining to the carriage driver that he was _not_ in a metal suit of armor.

The morning after their arrival Chrono found himself at the foot of the mountains without remembering quite how he got there. He did remember getting up early and trekking down another boring dirt trail, but having not actually been awake at the time, couldn't recall much. All he thought about at the moment was the heavy provisions bag on his back. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't complain because everyone had a similar bag, and they were all taking it very well – much better than him at least. Toma had even given himself the largest pack, in an act of chivalry or just sheer bravado, and he was the most cheerful of all of them.

Of course, he was also the most clueless. Chrono wasn't sure what story Lucca had told the man, but unless she lied, Toma had to have been crazy to accept the offer. It wasn't like the mythical sword's location (provided this sword existed, Lucca kept reminding them) was a secret – but so far no one had managed to survive _and_ bring the sword down from the mountain. Maybe danger was the allure. Then again, it may have been the promise of "helping the Hero" that everyone was getting worked up about. It all added up in their minds: the Hero needed the sword of fire to slay Magus, and what better sword than the Masamune? No one had bothered to wonder what would happen if the sword really wasn't a "sword of fire," or even if it was a sword at all, but they were desperate enough to hope. And the Hero himself was desperate enough to go for it himself. They could meet him somewhere on the mountain… _no, he's not that stupid to try and climb this thing all by himself._

Toma led the way with Lucca and Robo right behind. Strangely enough, once Lucca had explained that Robo was a machine, Toma completely understood. They all thought the concept of robotics would confuse the "primitive" minds of the old Guardians, but they had no less intelligence than anyone else. Of course they could never grasp just what went on inside this "machine," but for now Chrono didn't have to worry about hearing any silly questions from the explorer. He just fell in step behind them.

Nadia trailed a little further behind, so he slowed his step a little until they were even. "Hey… are you all right?"

"Yes. No. Maybe." She grunted. "It's too early to tell."

"Listen." _Oh boy, this is harder than I thought._ "We've all gone through a lot in the past week or so, I mean, what with the battles, and the endless talk about the Hero… and things."

Nadia just looked back at him, her eyes narrowed into slits. _Now she's suspicious! What do I say next? _"Um, what I mean to say is… we all need a boost. Do you know what I'm talking about?" She just nodded. "I mean, we have to just suck it in and, well, get over it."

He knew those words were a mistake as soon as he said them. "What?" Nadia half-growled.

"I don't mean it _that_ way."

"You're telling _me_ to just _get over it_? You and Lucca drag me back into the Middle Ages after abandoning me for a year, throw me into the middle of the worst war in the history of the world, screw up everywhere you go, almost get us killed, and _I have to get over it_?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then what, hm?"

_I just meant I don't want you to think you're alone! _"I just meant I don't want you to think you're alone!"

Chrono shrank a little as his words echoed in his mind. Nadia seemed to shrink a little as well, and she seemed at a loss for words. She still gave him the cold stare, her green eyes locked in place and aiming for him… but it was more in defense, to cover something up, and she quickly broke eye contact and caught up with the others. Chrono just sighed and followed suit. He kept as close as possible to the group, but had not felt so isolated in a long while.

For the next few minutes he only watched his feet as he followed Toma into the underbrush at the base of the mountain. And here they hit the first obstruction. In front of them, and to the left, was a cliff face, perhaps thirty feet in height. On the right was a steep drop into a raging river.

"Perhaps we'll have to find another route," Toma suggested.

"Is there another route?" Lucca replied.

"I have no knowledge of one. But who does? Few have dared trek even _this_ far, and I don't have enough rope."

The party was silent for a moment, then Nadia chimed in. "There's something at the top of that rock."

"It's a rope ladder," Robo said, his flat voice piercing the air. "And it has been cut off recently."

"Why would someone cut off the only route back?" Lucca mused.

As if in reply, a sharp cry rang out against the rocks, throaty and horrible. The sound rushed through the leaves, and several flocks of bluebirds suddenly took wing around them. Immediately, though, the sound stopped.

"What was that?" Nadia whispered.

"A scream."

"I know _that_. I mean, _what_ was that?"

Another scream rang out, this one even more horrible than the last. It was followed by a low roar – Chrono recognized it as the sound of a struggle. "We have to get up there!" The others just gave him the look that said _of course, moron_ but they didn't say anything. Instead they ran to the base of the cliff.

"Listen, we just need one of us to get up there," Lucca said. "If there's more rope you could let some down for us."

Nadia just pursed her lips. "And how are we supposed to get up?"

"We'll have to fly."

"What?"

"No! One of us can climb it, of course."

At this point Chrono interfered. "Lucca, how are you going to do that? That's a sheer rock face. There's hardly any handholds."

"_You're_ the one that did all that physical training for a year."

Chrono wanted to argue, but he felt that time was of the essence, so he grunted and began searching for his first grip. He found several very quickly, but only one which he could use to propel himself further up the cliff. Only a few moments had passed and he had already made progress – at least until he looked down and noticed his feet were barely off the ground. His heart fell a little, but he gritted his teeth and pushed himself a little more. Every second counted, because with each passing moment, the cries at the top became more and more urgent, and less and less… human. The sounds both frightened him and spurred him on. He felt his climb almost as a test for him, a test to conquer some fear. With each inch of rock he climbed, he heard the cries more distinctly, and he desperately desired to slow down and take his time. But by symbolizing his ascent as his own battle against his fear, he inspired himself to give his all until he was over the top.

Once he had both feet on the ground at the top, he saw he didn't have as much to worry about as he thought. There was no sign of any immediate struggle – but the cries continued just the same. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind and ran to the rope ladder. There was a little bit of extra rope, but not much. The end of it was bolted into the earth a good ten or fifteen feet away from the edge, and with just one look Chrono saw it was no good to try to remove the bolts. Instead he whipped out his katana and and sliced first one, then the other half of the ladder. Instantly it started sliding toward the edge, but he grabbed it just before it went over. Then he lay on his belly, both hands on the end of the ladder so it hung almost all the way down. He poked his head over the edge to see the others just staring back at him.

"Nadia, you're first."

"You want me to climb now?" she called.

"Yes. You're the lightest, and I have a good grip."

"I still can't reach it."

At this point Toma leaned close to her, whispering something. He whispered something to the others, and the three of them lifted her up until she could reach the first rung. Immediately Chrono felt her weight dragging him over the edge. "Faster!" he grunted. But as she got higher, he found it easier to hold on until she was clambering over the edge of the cliff.

"Lucca, you're next!" Chrono called, then, turning to Nadia, he said "grab one end."

Lucca made the ascent a little quicker, and with her help, Toma and Robo made it up with no problems. However, their climb had eaten up well over ten minutes, and the cries were beginning to die down. They wasted no time in congratulating each other or rubbing sore wrists and arms, but they ran as fast as they could to the source of the noise.

Around the bend they came to a clearing, and they saw perfectly what had happened. Strewn about the mossy ground were at least two dozen bodies, man and beast, twisted into odd angles and covered in blood. Most were human. There were also many more beasts surrounding the bodies and running across the clearing as if looking for something – perhaps one person who had escaped. These beasts were humanoid in structure, but they were horribly fat, underdressed, and discolored. Also, they took no care of themselves, as they all had long, unkempt, greasy hair, and they appeared to be eternally covered in yellow dirt. _Goblins_. Chrono had never seen them, but they matched every old rumor he had heard as a child. He didn't have time to register shock at the sight. The beasts had seen these new travelers with hungry eyes. While they definitely weren't complete weaklings, Chrono couldn't see how they managed to defeat so many men while losing so few. But he didn't think too much about it and instead rushed into the clearing as these goblins rushed back at him. He only hoped his friends were right behind.

The moment he was close enough to strike, Chrono whipped out his sword, and with one smooth flash of red light, slit two goblins at the throat. All of a sudden there seemed to be hundreds of them, but fortunately they did not all target him – his friends had followed, easily knocking down the beasts. As the goblins pressed in, he continued to slice into their soggy flesh as though slicing meat for dinner. _This is far too easy… twenty men are cut down, yet five of us can overcome them all?_

As if in reply to Chrono's thoughts, a new creature emerged. Whether it had been there the whole time, off to the side in the shadows, or had only just arrived, he couldn't tell and didn't care. But it must have been the reason for all the bloodshed. It carried itself properly, proudly, even – though it shrouded itself in a dark blue cloak so it's face was not visible. All Chrono saw were two white orbs and a hooked beak protruding from the blackness inside the robes. There were claws where its hands should have been, and talons where its feet should have been. And it carried a sword.

Chrono instantly ignored the goblins around him and ran up to the new creature. This beast, however, did not run back, but simply stood its ground until Chrono struck. Then, in a fluid motion, it blocked the blow, spun around, and kicked him in the back, sending him headlong into the brush. Chrono just shook off the blow and returned to the fray. The creature was excellent, dodging or blocking every single one of his attacks. But he was equally as excellent, and he did the same.

But he had something his opponent did not. As soon as he got the opportunity, he shot his left hand out and sent a white hot bolt into the creature's face. It immediately crumpled to the ground without a sound other than sizzling flesh.

Chrono returned to the battle with the goblins to notice that in the minute since he had wandered outside the ring, several more of the robed creatures had appeared. Now there was no question why the people before them had been so easily overrun. But it didn't take long for everyone to realize that the new opponents had no defense against the power of the elements, and they were quickly eliminated. As soon as they were, the goblins turned tail and ran.

The battle was an overwhelming success – only Toma had been wounded (he had been run through by a sword), but Nadia had easily healed him completely. _We even got some free swords out of it._

"I think this was supposed to be our warning," Lucca said flatly, examining this new sword.

"If that's just the warning, I can't wait to see what's next," Nadia replied, hanging her head.

After a moment, Robo spoke up. "Do you suppose these creatures are here to guard the sword?"

"Aye," Toma said, "and they are diligent guards. We'll have to keep our eyes open from now on."

Lucca suddenly dropped the sword. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

They all heard it now – a faint voice: "Hey! Help!"

"There's still someone alive!?"

"Down there! Get me down!"

They all looked up – and then they saw. In one of the trees there was a small boy trying to get back to the ground. However, the lowest branch was at least fifteen feet up the tree. The boy's gaze switched repeatedly between the ground below and the party, unsure if he had to jump or if he would be saved. Chrono began to approach the tree, and as he did so, there was no secret of who this boy was.

Toma said it first. "The Hero!"

_So he did run away – and he's still alive… one of these men down here must have put him up in the tree before…_

"Will you help me?" the boy cried as Chrono reached the trunk. He tried to speak again, but he just gasped, his breath coming out in ragged bursts.

Chrono extended a hand and called to the boy. "Jump! I'll catch you!" The Hero crouched down as if to jump, but then he hesitated. "Come on!" _Don't be a coward. _"I said I'll catch you!"

The Hero took a long time deciding, but he finally let himself go of the branch and fell into Chrono's arms. The boy certainly wasn't easy to catch, but he was light enough for Chrono to manage. As soon as he could, though, he let the boy down. The Hero then brushed himself off, quickly regaining composure. "Thank you," he said proudly.

"Thank God you are alive!" Toma exclaimed, rushing to him. "We feared the worst, young Tata!"

The Hero just smirked. "I am fine. There is no need to worry anymore."

Lucca and Nadia just rolled their eyes as Robo asked "how did you manage to survive?"

Tata didn't even look at Robo. "I was in the tree. Sir… the…" he started breathing hard again and rubbed his eyes, but he managed to complete his thought. He pointed at one of the bodies lying prostrate in the field behind them. "That man got me up in the tree." That was all he could manage before his emotion overtook him and he started to cry. He kept wiping his eyes, trying to hide his tears, but it did no good.

Nadia went straight to him. "Don't worry now. We'll take care of you," she half-whispered to him. Tata just clutched at her as if hanging on for dear life, his eyes suddenly wide. The sight made Chrono sick. He knew something was wrong with this Hero business, but he couldn't handle watching this… _what kind of man subjects his child to this? For that matter, what kind of child is stupid enough to think he can handle being a hero anyway?_

"We must keep moving," Robo pressed in. "This place is not safe for a child." Nadia nodded in agreement and they all returned to the nearest path – five adventurers and one small boy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some quick points.

First, I don't care how much the father believes his son to be a hero, he would not send his son alone into the mountains.

Second, Tata would not be so stupid that he would go by himself.

And finally, the party wouldn't be so callous as to send Tata home alone.

As for the rope ladder scene, I did some thinking and it is, in fact, possible - even under human conditions. If you really don't think so, then I need to work on that section to prove it to you. Let's just say some friction, plus weight, plus leverage and all that physics stuff would make it possible in the right circumstances. The reason I included that segment, though, was for believability. I think it would be too much to ask you to believe that Chrono and the gang happened to come upon this battle as it was ending and they couldn't save anyone except for the Hero. So, if they were far away, heard the noises, and were hindered so they couldn't help, that would give an incentive for them to not only find the hero but try to save the other people. In other words, I made sure they participated in the whole thing.

Also, I'd like to take this time to remind everyone again that I will be putting in little twists that aren't incredibly original. For instance, I am not the first to have Toma join the party on the mountain... I have seen this in one other story, and there may be more out there. So, to give credit where credit is due, Gibson18, you have the right idea. However, I maintain that I did plan this before you wrote it, and my reasons for this twist are very different from yours. I would know because I just re-read that segment of your story to make sure I wasn't blatantly copying. And just so you know, there will be one more twist of mine that you have already done, though again, I have different reasons and a different approach.

Lastly, if you would like to review, please give me some thoughts on the characters. If I'm messing them up, what should they be doing? Or, what do you see happening in the characters? I'd like to know if the things I planned are coming across.


	39. XVIII: A Sword Asunder

**Chapter XVIII: A Sword Asunder**

For the rest of the day Tata was a burden. He was too small or young to be of any use – he couldn't carry much (even if Toma would let him) and he couldn't fight. He didn't know where he was going because he had counted on others to lead the way. Normally Chrono wouldn't have had a problem with that, but Tata had a way of getting on everyone's nerves. He made sure everyone knew just how little use he would be by whining every time something went the slightest bit wrong. Once he stopped the group for a moment while he dug a "huge stone" out of his shoe – a stone no larger than a pebble – and whined about how it had been biting at his heel. Chrono was tempted to shoot back a retort, but he let it go. After all, this Hero was still a child, and couldn't understand the real ways of the world. _He's just a scared little boy, right? Right. But he is such an annoying coward I could… never mind, I don't want to go there right now._

In a way, Tata reminded Chrono of himself when he was a child… but that was another memory he had done well in forgetting. Even now he couldn't remember himself before the battle at Zenan. Sure, he remembered almost every gritty detail of the last year, but it felt like another person had been there. If he had been like this terrible child he should have remembered.

Even now Tata was bringing forth another complaint, this time about the distance they had traveled. "I cannot bear to take another step! My feet are in agony!"

Chrono and Lucca just shared looks, rolled their eyes, and stayed silent. "We're almost there," Toma grinned, trying not to laugh. "It will be a long trek to the top. You will certainly have strong legs by then!"

"I don't think this is funny!"

"Never mind," Nadia interrupted. "We'll find a place to rest soon. You can make it. I promise."

Tata looked disappointed, as if that were the answer he least wanted to hear, but he just pouted and said "if I must."

_Everyone just shut up and let's go!_ Chrono thought, glad no one could hear his internal ramblings. But he checked himself. _He is a child, and he's not a strong as you… in more ways than one. Wouldn't a little bit of grace help here?_ He nodded and grunted, not caring if the others gave him strange looks. (He would have given one himself, considering how foolish he felt arguing with himself.)

Eventually they did find a place to settle for the evening. The sun was beginning to set, and everyone was anxious for rest. They found a small grove with smooth, mossy ground, surrounded by the woods. Despite Nadia's reservations about safety, Toma insisted that this was the safest they were going to get. Even though the woods encroached on all sides, they would make sure all their supplies were far enough towards the center that any approaching creature would have to step into the open to attack.

Toma was the expert in outdoor survival, so everyone let him give the orders. First he had all of them grab some nearby rocks and arrange them in a circle for a firepit. Then they laid out their packs around the edge. Finally their heavy loads would do some good. Toma, Chrono, and Robo had carried makeshift tents with them, which they quickly set up. Meanwhile Nadia and Lucca starting laying out the sleeping bags and other paraphernalia, letting Tata lie down in some grass.

When it was done they all sat down a moment and wiped sweat from their faces. Despite how late the day was getting, the weather still felt hot. Toma warned them that it would soon be extremely cold, and though Chrono thought he was exaggerating a tad, he almost hoped it would be cold for a change. However, he didn't want to be unprepared, so when Toma suggested they go find some kindling for a fire, he jumped at the chance.

"Wait," Lucca interjected. "Do we really need…?"

"Unless you want to keep a fire going the whole night," was Chrono's response. Lucca understood. (Toma did not, but they shushed him before he even got a word out.) She suggested she and Robo go out for that, as they could probably get a substantial load that way. While they went away, Toma explained, he and Chrono would go see if they could find some water nearby. Their canteens wouldn't be full forever.

At first Nadia objected. "Wait… you're going to leave me here with… him?" she jerked her head in Tata's direction. Luckily for her Tata was not paying attention.

_Sure. You're the best with the children anyway… no… you're the kindest one of us… not even…_ "You're the only one that can stand him." She just gave Chrono a half-smile and sat down on a dirty log.

He left them there and followed Toma into the woods. "What makes you think there'll be any water nearby anyway," Chrono mused as soon as they were alone.

"Are you joking?" Toma grinned, then realized Chrono was serious, and then he slightly shook his head. "We passed a stream at the base of the mountain. The stream must begin somewhere." Chrono just blushed as Toma suppressed a laugh. From then on Chrono just kept quiet and followed Toma's instructions to the letter. He had suddenly realized just how ill-prepared he was… as if the last two weeks hadn't been enough of an indication. He never would have thought he'd be scaling a mountain and living in the wild. History made it seem so easy.

"Are you feeling ill?" The question almost made him jump. "Chrono?" Toma was staring at him.

"No, no… sorry, my mind was wandering."

"Ah." He shrugged as if it were no big deal, but then added, "see that you keep your wits, or you'll lose more than your mind."

"That's not comforting at all," Chrono said to himself, hoping Toma wouldn't hear.

He did. Toma burst out in laughter. "Should it be? Since when has comfort been one of life's mistresses?"

"Never mind." _Since when did you become a philosopher?_

The explorer stopped short and thrust out his hand toward Chrono. "Shh – there is a stream nearby. I thought there would be one here somewhere. Did you remember your bottle?"

"Canteen."

"Bottle. I trust you did. I'm thirsty myself, and I'm always the last to be thirsty." He chuckled to himself and jogged into the underbrush. Once there he waited a few moments and then shouted. "Chrono! Come here already! This one will do!"

Chrono followed until he was standing next to the stream – if that was the right word. "River" might have been better, as this so-called stream was over ten feet wide, and appeared to be several feet deep. At the sight of all that water he realized just how thirsty he was. He quickly unscrewed the cap to his canteen and dunked it under the glassy surface of the river. The water bubbled around his hand, cold and fresh. As soon as his canteen was full he took it out and drank the entire contents in less than a minute.

"Not so fast," Toma said, dunking his own canteen under the water. "Unless you want to be up all night watering the good earth." He then proceeded to fill his extra bottles.

Chrono gasped for air and wiped his sleeve along his mouth in satisfaction. "Toma," he said suddenly, "do you ever wonder you're doing the right thing?"

Toma just stared at him blankly, as if hiding a perplexed smile. All he said was "What?"

"Sorry," he blurted. "Sorry, that just came out. I didn't mean anything…"

"No, no, say it again."

"Do you ever wonder, or think about…" the words felt stranger now that he was thinking about them… "well, if this is all right. If we're doing the right thing."

"I rarely think, I often do. That's my motto. And you? You think the same way?"

"I was just wondering, that's all."

"Of course you were."

"Sorry. We should be getting back." Chrono refilled his canteen and stepped back onto the path, Toma right behind. _I was just wondering… right? This is awkward._ Fortunately, on the way back, Toma felt like making small talk, which sort of eased Chrono's nagging doubts, or at least made him feel a little more comfortable. But inevitably, conversation shifted to the others in the group – mostly Nadia and Lucca.

"Fine women," Toma said at one point. "Until now I had never seen a woman who could compete with a man in any regard, especially the skills of survival. You're lucky, you know. Fine women. What say you – what do you think of them?"

Chrono stiffened a little, but kept walking. "What?" _Now this is really awkward_. "I can't say much, really."

"Nonsense! You must have a hundred tales to tell! Have you anything to remember?"

"No actually, I haven't given it any thought."

Toma's jaw actually dropped. "I can't forget a single woman I've seen and you can't remember the two you have even lived with! Life is cruelty, I tell you. There's nothing wrong with you, I trust. A little dead inside?"

"I'm fine. I just… well, no, not that, it's…"

"I'm dying to hear," Toma grinned.

"They're my friends. I couldn't think of them that way. I mean, if that's what _you_ meant by that way and not some other way. Then no. Otherwise yes. Unless not."

"Liar. I know one when I see one. Which one catches your eye?"

"They don't. I mean, not like that. They're both nice looking, I guess, but – "

"But ah – you can only choose one. That is the rule."

Chrono kept his head down as if talking to his feet. "Listen, Toma, Lucca's been my friend ever since I was a boy… and Nadia, well, she's… someone that… never mind, I wouldn't have time to explain. That's just not how things work."

"Then say you don't fancy either. If you were lost on an island somewhere and were given the choice of just one – "

"No. Not happening. I'm not going to be comfortable with that. Let's pretend you just did not say anything."

Toma laughed quietly and said nothing more, leaving Chrono alone with his thoughts for the rest of the way. And the more he thought, the more he realized he had been thinking about them… _but it's not like that, it's different. They're my team. They're my friends. So why am I thinking about them at all?_

Naturally the moment he started really thinking he arrived at the clearing again to see Nadia. She was sprawled out on one of the fallen logs in an awkward pose – as if to point out simultaneously just how uncomfortable she was and that she was fine and didn't need any help. When she saw Chrono she pulled herself up using a nearby branch. As soon as she let go, the branch snapped back and nicked her in the face. She just put a hand to her cheek and said "Tata's in the tent getting his rest.:

"That's too bad," Chrono replied.

"What for?"

He grinned. "You could have been spending quality time together."

Toma chuckled and took a seat by the firepit to prepare dinner. For the moment Chrono just sat on another log opposite Nadia. She lay back down again, but this time she tried to make herself appear more comfortable. Soon she had relaxed enough to close her eyes and drift to sleep. Chrono looked at her now and knew he saw something very different from what he had ever seen before: he saw Nadia as a friend, or more than a friend – a partner. And he felt responsible for her, for where she was, what she did, even what she thought. It was as if he could see all his previous and present actions interfering with her and moving her around in his own timeline, from when they first met a year ago at the fair to when he rode with her in the car to when he watched her heal the king, and beyond. He felt she was a part of him somehow, figuratively. And as soon as he realized that he felt this, he jumped a little inside and scolded himself for thinking that way. He had never actually taken the time to notice someone else before, so he physically felt something different inside him, which he immediately blamed on the strange mountain air.

He jumped again at the sound of leaves rustling and branches snapping in the distance. A moment later he heard Lucca's distinct cackle and relaxed again. She and Robo soon came bounding into the clearing, each carrying a multitude of split logs and branches. Actually, Robo carried the logs; Lucca carried the kindling. Toma had them drop the materials by the pit. "I'll start the fire if one of you gets the food from the tent."

"No, I'll start the fire," Lucca said.

Toma hesitated a moment before continuing. "Then I'll get the food. I trust you will need my tools."

"No, I have my own."

She had a roaring fire going before Toma returned from the tent with news: "The Hero has wounded himself with his own sword."

"There's a moral in there somewhere," Chrono muttered. Robo heard this and shot him a look before going into the tent himself.

The meal went smoothly enough. Nothing that Chrono cared to remember, but it felt good to get something in his stomach. The Hero even made an appearance and managed not to look disgusted with everyone else the whole time. He didn't say anything though, and everyone took that to mean that they weren't allowed to talk either. It was awkward but not intolerable. Nadia woke up at the smell of the food cooking and ventured to have some. She then noticed the makeshift bandage on the Hero's hand and made a move to help. Chrono and Lucca both pursed their lips and motioned for her to back off.

Once the Hero returned to his quarters the rest of them relaxed a little, and felt permission to speak. Mostly they just discussed tomorrow's route, or how they would ration food supplies, or if they would just ditch Tata and move on unburdened (actually, only Lucca even suggested it, but Chrono was somewhat sure she was joking). Soon enough they all felt the conversation was finished, and so they started packing for bed. In order to keep watch all night, they at first decided to sleep in shifts, every two hours replacing the watchman outside. But Robo quickly convinced them all he could stay out the whole night. Toma was a little confused, but he relented, and so everyone but Robo and Chrono retired for the night.

"Chrono, are you not going to rest? Your body will be unable to survive another day if you do not sleep."

"I'm not tired." There was a long pause. "So I'll stay out here for a while."

"That is fine. But do not expect a great deal of conversation from me. I cannot think of anything amusing to say at the moment."

Chrono nodded and rested his head on his fists. He wanted to rub his shoulders and feel if there was anything hanging on them, but he knew his were unburdened… at least physically. But he still felt a sort of weight on them. It was a good kind of weight, he decided, because it was the result of his own decisions. Even then he wished he could relax a little. Every time he tried to stop thinking about the things that frightened him, he thought about them all the more, and the harder he tried, the worse his thoughts got. _Is this really going to work? Is the Masamune real? What if the wizard doesn't know the origins of Lavos?_

"Do not worry about it," Robo said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Whatever you are worrying about."

"Nothing really." Another long silence went by. "Actually, everything."

"Yes, I thought so. None of us realized what we were attempting when we started. You have simply realized before the rest of us. I suppose some would say you are passing through the stage when a boy becomes – "

"Wait, how do you know all this stuff about me?"

"Ah, Lucca has taught me much in the field of human emotions and thoughts. I pieced together everything from that and from what you said to me on the battlefield at Zenan. Lucca tells me a lot about you."

"Shut up."

"I am sorry, I do not mean to talk if you would rather have silence."

"No, sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I meant… well, it's hard to explain."

"Yes, you are confused. Perhaps I can help."

"What are you, my mother?"

"No. That would be very wrong. I simply feel a sort of responsibility for the group. Especially Lucca. Please do not tell her this – but… she is a fool. I cannot believe I would ever say something like that about her, but it is true. She has intelligence beyond anyone I have yet to meet (though admittedly I have not met very many people), but she is still a child inside."

Chrono heard the next silence like marbles rubbing together. "Okay, I think I'll try to sleep now."

"Oh, I have embarrassed you?"

"Yes. Exactly. But thanks anyway." He turned to go, but stopped short right before entering the tent.

"What is it? Is there something there?" Robo stood. "Oh. That is impossible."

Right in front of the opening to the tent stood a strange boy. He looked like he couldn't be much older than seven years. His hair and clothes were unkempt and his face unclean, yet he seemed to be the most beautiful child Chrono had ever seen. It seemed the air was visibly lighter around him. The boy didn't move or say anything, so Chrono stood rigid.

"We are surrounded," Robo said flatly, swiveling his head around. On all sides of them were many creatures – some goblins and swordsmen, like the ones they had fought earlier. There were also many great birds, each three or four feet long, perched in the branches. The creatures stared inward, but never moved. They seemed fixated on the boy, who also remained still. Then, one by one, they started to rustle a little. The birds flapped their wings and the goblins stomped in the dirt. But still they never moved inward. Instead, they moved to each other. One by one they started to interact, the birds grooming each other, the swordsmen trading, and the goblins grunting all at once.

Chrono stood agape until Robo spoke again. "This cannot be real. Something is wrong. My eyes are not receiving information normally."

"It looks real to me."

"The boy… is not a boy."

Chrono turned to look, but the boy had vanished. "Wait, where did he go?"

"He is still in front of the tent."

"No he's not, he's gone."

"I suspect we have crossed a line between fantasy and reality."

"For the first time?"

"Hold on! The boy is running off!" Chrono turned all around, but he still couldn't see the boy. However, he saw all the creatures, one by one, scurry or fly away. Soon the forest was empty again – not a single sound above his breathing, and then a rustling from in the tent.

Lucca stuck her head out. "Will you stop all that grunting out here? I'm trying to sleep." Upon seeing their perplexed expressions, she added, "what _is_ going on out here anyway?"

"Nothing."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally, I got an update in! And for those of you wondering why the action has stopped: yes, I _am_ stalling. Actually, I thought this would be the place to introduce some moments I have neglected to include earlier (such as the party actually interacting with each other like real people) and other moments that set up some later scenes. Well, if I remember to include those later scenes. It'll make sense then. Plus, I haven't quite nailed down what will happen in the next update. Sure, I know what will happen after that, but the next one is particularly troublesome. I have a hard time believing that the party would have to just fight for the sword, but at the same time I don't want to just cop out and do some sort of riddle test. Just trust that I'm thinking about it, so if the update doesn't appear for a while, that's why.

At the end there I wanted to return to some of that plain weird mystery I had going at "The End of Time." For one, the last couple of chapters had too much nitty-gritty realism (well, as realistic as this story can get) without the crazy stuff that happens in the game. Plus, it's a continuity thing. The End of Time can't be the only weird part of the story. I do have other reasons for including it, though - I'm trying to set up future moments like this (with particular characters), so we'll see how that works out.

Anyway, enjoy your spring/summer, everybody. Go out and party so I don't feel guilty about not updating all the freaking time.


	40. XVIII: A Sword Asunder 2

**A Sword Asunder**

The next morning they packed and started on the trail again, this time in silence. The only sound they could really hear was that of their feet crunching into the dry dirt and rocks. No birds sang, no streams roared, no one spoke. Chrono and Robo just exchanged glances. Around midday they reached the end of the line. The trail ended suddenly at another rock face, but this time there was a cavern opening off to the side. A great mouth with a patient expression, as if knowing they had to go in or turn back. Chrono half expected a pair of black eyes above the entrance, but there were only clumps of moss and fungus. Toma suggested they eat before they continue, but everyone was in such anticipation that preparing a meal was out of the question. Instead Toma and Chrono went to the closest fruit tree and grabbed everyone a snack.

At first the cave gave no indication of being special. The only light came in through cracks in the ceiling. It wasn't much, but it gave enough for everyone to see their surroundings. As far as they could tell, no one was in the cave but them. They heard even less than they had outside, where at least the occasional rustling of leaves kept maddening silence at bay. Here they were free to go mad.

"Look! 'Round the corner!" Toma whispered excitedly, motioning for the others to follow. Around the bend was a large, open room, almost like the inside of a dome. At the top was a hole for the light to enter, but this light behaved strangely. Instead of dissipating throughout the cave, it focused its attention to one spot, creating one brilliant beam towards the far wall.

They all knew instantly – this was it, it had to be the place. One by one the crept into the room, each feeling out of place, unworthy to be there. With each step they took, the light became brighter and more focused until they could clearly see an object in the middle of the brilliant beam: a sword. No, _the_ sword. It was driven into the earth so little more than the hilt showed. That was all they could see – a gray silhouette against the rock face.

"Whoosh! I'm the wind!"

They all jumped back against the nearest wall, each looking toward the center of the room. How they had managed to miss this… they couldn't guess. The child seemed to have materialized from nothing. With one look Chrono recognized him from the night before. He shared a puzzled look with Robo, who only shook his head. This was no child. He, or it, or whatever "he" was, ran in circles in the middle of the cave, arms spread wide, laughing and making whooshing noises. He sounded like a child, he acted like a child…

"I'm the wind, Masa!"

As the child kept running, Chrono inched further toward the sword. His each step felt involuntary, as if the sword itself were calling him. In the back of his mind he told himself _nonsense_ and _impossible_ but that voice was starting to die. After all, he could only see so many mages and spirit children before he stopped trying to be reasonable. _Right?_

"Stop!"

He froze, along with everyone else, including the first child. This was a new voice.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The voice's owner stepped out from behind a nearby boulder. _I could have sworn no one was there._ He… it… was another child, almost identical to the first as far as physical features. However, he appeared more well groomed – neat hair and clothes, cleaner face – and behind his eyes was a certain maturity. _Like an adult_, Chrono though. _A forty-year old child._

"You're here for the sword?" The child asked rhetorically. There was no response. Finally he motioned to Chrono, who was closest. "Well? Take it."

Chrono started inching his way to the light again, cautioning himself every step of the way. _There's something wrong. He wouldn't let me have it this easily. But he's a child… or at least he seems to be. Maybe for once things are as easy as they look. But that's just what they'd want me to think… what if the child is really another monster? We should be on our guard…_ his hand went to his sword, then off again. _What is this? The first time we can settle down and I have to imagine new terrors. But as soon as I turn my back, I know I'm gonna…_

Finally he made it, and all thoughts rushed from his head, pouring out his ears, until only one remained. _It's not yours._ He stepped back as if physically struck. _You're no hero. It belongs to the Hero. It's not yours._

He shot a look at the others one by one, resting his gaze on Tata.

"Well?" The second child again. Chrono almost jumped. He could hear nothing else anymore, feel nothing else, almost _see_ nothing else but the sword. After what seemed to be forever, he started to reach for it slowly. His hands were hardly moving, waiting for a sudden attack but simultaneously thrilled with the prospect of achieving this –

_Wait a minute. It's just a sword. I've already got one._ His hand stopped. Was this one of those fairy-tale hubris tales again? Object of desire turns out to control the hero? _I don't even want this thing…_ Another one of those stories his mother told him? _Mom…_

Before he knew it he had pulled his hands back to his sides. "Sorry," he muttered to the child, who was now standing next to him. The child actually seemed surprised with his choice. Chrono clasped his hands together. For some reason it was hard to get any words out. "I'm not the Hero." It was hard work just moving his body at this point, and it took all his energy to point to Tata and say "He is. He's the 'Hero.' Let him take it."

Instantly Chrono felt lighter, as if something had let go of his head. The others must have felt something too, for they all started fidgeting and groaning. Tata's eyes just went wide. "I… N… no… I'm really…"

"What?" The child asked, peering intently at the boy.

"No!" Tata's hand went over his medal. "I'm just carrying it! Truly, I…"

"Hero, take your sword."

"I… no…"

"Are you frightened, boy?" The child's voice suddenly sounded much deeper.

"No!"

"_You_ have the medal. Take what's yours!"

"No I don't." Tata's eyes were shifting all over. Anywhere but toward the sword, or the child, or that first one, who now had stopped running and just watched him. "They did it!" Tata cried, pointing to the others. "It's theirs! They told me to hold it while they – "

"Don't you want what belongs to you?"

"N… yes, but… no!"

"No?"

"NO!"

The child was shouting now, approaching Tata threateningly. "Take your sword, Hero!"

"I'm not the Hero!"

Now the child pushed him down. "Take it, coward!"

"Really, I'm not. They made me! I…"

"Well if you're not the Hero, who is?"

"I… I don't know! I found it, I swear! I swear on my mother's grave I found it in the road. Someone dropped it and I tried to tell him but he just – "

"Stop!" Instantly the child changed his demeanor. No longer did he appear frightening, and everyone almost immediately forgot just how upset they had been. "There is truth in your words. But if you are no Hero, why have you then come for his sword?"

"Silly humans," the other child interjected. "It's how you use the sword that's important, not who owns it!"

"I could have told them _that_!"

"But you didn't, Masa. You just frightened them like you do to all the others!"

"Perhaps if humans weren't so ignorant and power-hungry I could speak plainly!"

"Not all of them are. Not Cyrus. He was the only one who made it this far."

Chrono just looked back and forth between the children. Suddenly it was hard to tell which was which. "Masa, for all your knowledge you are as ignorant as they are!"

"Well, my dear brother Mune, you don't do much better." The names were not lost on anyone. Either these children had crazy mothers with an obsession for folklore or... some other strange thing was going on. Chrono cleared his throat, prepared to speak. He didn't know what to say, but anything was better than nothing, as long as he told the truth.

"…" His throat felt a little dry.

The children stopped and stared at him. "What did you say?" one asked.

"I heard that," the other stated.

_Heard what?_

"You can't have it."

"Mune, someone has to have the sword someday. It is written."

"So it is."

The one child, Masa, turned to face Chrono. "As you are so interested in the prize, you may have it."

"Wait. Not just anyone can. He must be tested."

"How? It is written that the Hero only shall wield the sword. If the words be true, then simply wielding that sword proves the identity of the Hero. Perhaps then we should allow them each, one by one, to pick it up, hm? The one who can successfully wield it, then, should be the Hero? Not a chance."

"Then test as you tested Cyrus."

Masa stroked his chin. A long minute passed. "So we shall."

Instantaneously the children were gone. In their places stood two identical creatures. While they appeared humanoid, Chrono knew better than to think these two were anything close to human, or even mystic. They had bald heads, long ears, and earthen skin, and each wore a white tunic. But what stood out most were the eyes – a stunning white, as if they had bright lanterns behind them. But these were not soulless eyes. They were something of the opposite, so much soulful that Chrono could not even comprehend them. And he knew he wasn't looking at some apparition, but that these two creatures had been here, like this, all along, and only now allowed everyone to see them truly.

They stood only a moment before rushing in towards him from both sides. In one swift motion Chrono pulled out his katana and swung toward one, while twirling out of the path of the other. But as he moved, his opponents moved with him – impossibly, without sound – altering their course until they both collided into his body. At least Chrono had the good sense to keep a tight grip on his sword when he went down.

As he hit the ground, the cave suddenly sprang to life. Lucca and Robo were immediately at his side. Nadia grabbed Tata and put herself in front of the boy. Toma even dropped his pack and whipped out a hunting knife. They had hardly moved when the two creatures came back for another strike. Chrono jumped to his feet just before they got to him. Lucca wasn't fast enough to stop the blow, but she kept Chrono steady for the next strike.

This time he was ready. Right before they reached him, he spun away from them and dropped to his knees, pointing the sword behind him as one of the creatures ran up on it. As to the other, he put up a hand to soften the blow as the creature tore into him. He stood again, noticing that neither of them appeared wounded, yet he had definitely felt something impaled by his sword.

Now Lucca sprang into action. She held out one hand and shot a fireball which incinerated one creature where it stood. The other did not even stop, or seem to notice the disappearance of its twin. It came directly at Chrono with one hand – or claw, or whatever that thing was supposed to be – poised to strike. He stood his ground and thrust his sword straight out, but the thing dodged it, grabbed his arm, and pulled his off his feet. Chrono twirled as he fell so he landed on his back, and stuck his sword into the air just in time to fend off another blow. He leapt up and continued swinging. While the creature dodged most of the attacks, it couldn't dodge them all. Instead it just held up a hand to block Chrono's slice, and like a shield it stopped the sword. Though he was hacking at exposed flesh, Chrono wasn't making a scratch.

The sight proved to be too much. He felt his heart sinking, and with it his grip weakening and his strokes falling much slower. Next thing he knew he was sprawled out on the floor of the cave, looking right up into the creature's strange eyes. "Is that all it takes to defeat someone of the likes of you? Come on, stand up. I won't kill anything lying down."

The creature locked eyes with him long enough for Lucca to use the moment to her advantage. She rushed in, prepared to launch another fireball, but the thing neatly stepped out of the way. Then Toma rushed in with his knife. The creature didn't even try to stop the blow – the knife sank deep into the creature's white robe… and then snapped. Toma stood dumbfounded. Lucca was amazed herself, but prepared another attack. She was flat on her back before she knew she had been hit. "I was talking to the boy," the creature said flatly.

No sooner had it stopped talking when Robo slammed into it with full force. The two figures tumbled one over the other for a moment, clouds of dust comically enveloping in struggle. But not long after and the creature was up again, unharmed. Robo just lay flat.

Chrono grunted as he sat up. He took hold of his sword again and tried to clear his head. Slowly he stood up and faced his opponent. "Very good. I was afraid I'd win too easily." This time Chrono didn't give the creature time to attack. He just held out a hand and struck his opponent with as much electrical energy he could muster. A large white bolt enveloped the creature, and then it was gone.

"Very, _very_ good."

Chrono whirled around. There, standing next to the buried sword hilt, stood the two children – as children.

"I should have known you were mages of some kind."

"Right you are, there. You _always_ get yourself killed too quickly, Mune. I'm the one who has to finish things around here."

"Well, he finished you off just as quick, if I may say so."

"All right. I wasn't trying very hard."

"You could have dragged it out more, like with Cyrus."

They were interrupted by a shriek. "WHAT?" Lucca was up and shaking her fists.

"Oh, you thought this was real, now did you?"

"Real as things ever get, Masa."

A cool silence hung over the cave for a moment. Chrono and Lucca just stared at the two children. Nadia comforted Tata, who began bawling hysterically. Toma sat holding his head.

"True heroes aren't fighters."

"True heroes aren't winners, either."

"Sometimes they are, Mune."

The two children turned to face each of the travelers, one by one. Finally they spoke again. "Sorry. You weren't supposed to win. But we'll still give you the sword anyway… whatever use it'll come to you."

"It'll take more than a Hero."

"Do you think someone will fix us, Masa?"

"Someday."

One child – Mune, supposedly – looked straight at him and repeated: "Someday." The words chilled Chrono (and he knew they were supposed to), and all was silent for a moment. Then the child continued. "Well, you'll be needing this if you want to play hero, then?" And then the children were gone.

So was the sword.

"Wait, what?" Toma managed to squawk as he rushed to the spot that had only moments ago shown the hilt. The rest caught up to him to see: there was no sword hilt, but there was part of a sword. Just the front end of a double-edged sword, broken, with a jagged edge. It glowed a brilliant red as if crying out, then the color drained and it appeared no more than the blade of a standard military weapon. Chrono stole a glance at Robo.

"I saw what you saw, Chrono. This is no basic trickery."

"Figures."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: You'll probably want some explanation why this shorter chapter took so long, right? Well, I'm having some writer's block issues. That's right, for the next couple of chapters I sort of know what happens but not enough to just go plowing through. (Once I get up to Magus' Castle I have a good idea, but before that my outline is pretty sketchy.)

As far as this pseudo-battle: one thing I always thought was a mistake in the game was that Masa and Mune could come together and fight as one giant beast. If the sword is broken, and they ARE the sword, how could they come together? Don't get me wrong, it makes for a better boss fight... but it didn't make any sense here. And the first part of the fight - Masa and Mune separately - is so easy peasy that dragging it out here wouldn't work too well. So I decided the best course of action was to confuse you all so much that you couldn't figure out what the heck is going on, or why, and you just decided I'm brilliant and be done with it. (Right? I mean about the brilliant part.)

I'm hoping to update again before the end of summer, but I still need to piece the last part of this segment together. (Also, I'm working two jobs, so time is really, really tight.)


	41. XVIII: A Sword Asunder 3

**A Sword Asunder**

Now they heard Masa's voice – or Mune's. They weren't sure. "Here, let's ride the wind down the mountain. Just stand under the opening in our roof." They exchanged glances. "Well? We don't have all day." Robo was the first to stand under the opening. "And how do you expect us to lift _you_ in that ridiculous outfit? All right, we'll try. We're not miracle workers here." Lucca joined him, and then the rest followed quickly.

Next thing Chrono knew the opening in the ceiling was a lot closer than before – and before he could gauge the distance he was flying through the hole and into the blazing sunlight above. With a rush of wind he and the others descended the nearest slope, brushing over treetops and whizzing around rocks and crevasses. And before he could quite understand what was going on, Chrono felt his feet softly touch the soft earth at the foot of the mountain. And without a sound, his friends appeared next to him – well, almost without a sound. Robo missed his footing or something and tumbled into a nearby brush, sending a family of roly-polys out in a thunderous panic.

Once on the ground, they all wasted no time. Chrono wrapped the blade in his tunic and led the rest in a jog back toward Porre. The gang didn't have to run far. As soon as they reached any sign of civilization, the people came flocking to see the return of the Hero. Soon the crowd had completely obstructed their path, and it wasn't much later until they were completely surrounded. Tata quickly hid behind Nadia, but that did no good and he was soon seized by the masses. Thus, blinking back sudden tears of rage, he led the victory march back to Porre.

The crowd only continued to grow as they all got closer to the Hero's home, and in the surge Chrono found himself squeezed out the front position. Soon he couldn't even see Tata, let alone his friends. But he knew that trying to break free would be a good way to cause someone an injury, so he had to just play along and keep moving. By good fortune he was squeezed in next to Lucca, so at least they could slip each other cautious looks, and occasionally whispered remarks.

"So what are we going to do with the brat now?" Lucca said.

"We need to get the medal from him at least."

"Leave it to me."

"No, this time I'll handle it."

After what seemed hours, the crowd stopped, and Chrono took the chance to push himself to the front of the group. There he saw Tata, who stood apart from everyone and stared down none other than his father. Right away he – and everyone else – could see that something was very wrong. The father could barely contain an expression of disgust, an expression Tata mirrored perfectly. Silence fell over the scene so the next words were audible even for those in the back.

"Son," was all the father said before he fell to one knee and slowly extended his arms. Tata did not come running. "Tata..."

"Father."

"Come here, Tata." The voice was sterner but hadn't yet betrayed anything threatening. Chrono suspected the charade wouldn't last long.

He was right. "Father, I did it. I have the sword of fire."

"What?" His father registered shock.

Tata suddenly broke out and yelled. "That's right! I did it even though you said I couldn't! You old cheat! You go around telling everyone I'm something so you get money, but I got the sword on my own and I don't need you!"

"Tata, don't make me – "

"Make you what? Are you gonna hit me again? Huh?"

"What, no, Tata, I would never – "

"Yes you would. Come on, hit me! What are you scared of now, huh?"

"I promised your mother I would – "

"You killed her, it's your fault, it's your fault!"

Just then the father broke the spell and charged for the boy. He was only a few feet away when he was suddenly interrupted. In some very quick moves, Chrono bolted between them, twisted the father's arm and brought him to the ground, then took Tata by his tunic and brought the boy to his side.

But in no time, the father was on his feet and after Chrono, who only drew his katana and leveled it at him. "Who do you think you are? Let go of my boy!" the father bellowed.

"No. It's true – this boy went up the mountain. With us! You should remember us. You dined with us – me, and my friends – " Chrono indicated to the crowd, and his friends stepped forward – "and Toma. We have the sword." He unwrapped his tunic and let the blade fall to the ground. "And now Tata has something very important to say." With that, he gripped Tata's hand harshly.

"Ow!"

"Let go of him this instant! Someone unhand my boy!" No one in the crowd moved.

"Why don't you, you rat!" Chrono started. It was Nadia's voice.

"Tata! Tell him!"

"No! You can't make me!"

"Fine then!" With his free hand Chrono scooped up the blade again and held it in front of the boy's face. Now Chrono didn't know why it worked – but just the sight of it was enough to make Tata cave just a little. Perhaps it was just the memory of that afternoon.

"I'm still not talking to you."

Chrono twisted the boy's arm – an action he instantly regretted, but Tata perked up immediately. "Okay okay okay it's not mine! I found it! Some frog thing dropped it in the forest and I found it, but I didn't know what it was and you made me wear it!"

The crowd gasped as one. "N-n-no," his father stammered. "Can you believe this. A frog! He's lying. You've got his wrist and you're making him tell ridiculous lies because..."

"Because what!" Tata stuck out his tongue.

"I will deal with you later!"

"Yeah, hit me! I don't care!" With that, he grabbed the medal from around his neck and threw it to the ground. "It's all true. You made me wear this and I hate it and I HATE YOU!"

"Tata I swear on your mother's life..." Then in a mad dash the father burst towards Tata. In one motion Chrono released his grip on the boy and scooped up the medal. Carrying it from the strap, he whirled it around and let it crack across the man's face. The man didn't even get to cry in pain before he was face down in the dirt.

Chrono whirled around, but Tata was gone. And one by one, the people in the crowd dispersed, leaving just him and his friends to stare at the fallen man before leaving themselves.

"There you are."

The frog jumped back in alarm at the sight. Chrono sat on a moss-encrusted rock, flanked by Lucca and Robo on one side, and Nadia and Toma on the other. They were back in the Cursed Woods, and just as Chrono had predicted, sooner or later they were bound to catch sight of the frog.

"Pray tell, what devilry is this? Mine eyes deceive me."

"Oh, can the stupid accent!" Lucca burst.

Chrono shushed her. "I have something for you," he said, pulling out the medal from his tunic. "A little boy said some frog dropped this. Have you seen any other frogs around, or can I assume this is yours?"

The frog stammered a bit, then caught himself. "Aye, it was mine. But no more. The hero, I am not. I can do naught."

"Nothing," Lucca interrupted. "The words you are searching for are 'I can do nothing.' Chrono, make him stop talking nonsense."

"I care not," the frog replied, "what I sound like, nor what tripe is spoken these days by commoner folk. Now good day. Sorry to have been such little help to thee."

"Then how about this?" Chrono pulled out the blade.

"Th-th-the Masamune!"

"Th-th-th what?"

"Lucca, be polite. Anyway, Mr. uh – Mr. Frog, I have taken to heart your words: chance and opportunity are family – "

"Brothers," Lucca and Nadia both corrected.

"And I realized something. I don't care how worthless you say you are, you are the one who owned the medal, so according to prophecy you're pretty much halfway there. This is just too good a coincidence to pass up."

"Coincidence, it is not. How I wish I could tell everything, but alas! I cannot. Come – let me show you the way home." With that the frog gestured for them to follow and took off.

"Chrono," Lucca panted as they followed, "if you can't get him to stop talking like that, I'm going to go crazy."

"Too late."

Their jog wasn't all that far before they stopped in front of a nondescript bush. "Here we stop. My home is there."

"That's a bush," Lucca said.

"I have eyes, too, wench. My home is under it." He led them around and showed them a hole underneath and a ladder, by which they climbed down.

There was only a little bit of light coming from the hole when they first entered. But soon the frog had a roaring fire going which illuminated the shelter in a dull orange. Not that there was much to see. Aside from a makeshift bed, a table, a chair, and what could only be a dresser, there wasn't really anything in this "home."

The frog had them wait at the table while he disappeared around a corner. When he returned, he held some goblets and a cask of wine.

"Oh, no," Nadia said. "I shouldn't be drinking."

"Art thou not thirsty after such a day?"

"What?"

"He means you should be thirsty 'cause we've been walking forever," Lucca interpreted.

"I know what he meant... I just didn't, you know, _know_."

Regardless, the frog served everyone, including Robo. "My humblest regards," he said, "in that I ne'er oft have company. Thus I only have one seat, and there be two maidens. I am in a quandary."

"You can sit, Lucca."

"No, you can – your legs aren't as strong as mine."

"If you ladies can't decide, then I'll sit," Chrono interjected.

"Way to be a gentleman, jerk," the ladies chorused.

"Fine, if that's the way you want it..." Chrono sat himself down, and immediately he was shoved aside as Nadia and Lucca worked together to dethrone him. In the struggle, he toppled over and landed directly on Lucca, but not without grasping Nadia's arm and bringing her down on top of him.

"I have an idea," Robo announced. "No one sits in the chair."

"Thy wisdom be as plentiful as thy girth."

The other three stood and dusted themselves off. "And we haven't even had one drink yet," Chrono said.

Lucca shot him a look. "All right, enough fooling around. Mister Frog, would you be so kind as to get to the point?"

"Pardon?" the frog replied.

"She means what did you want to tell us?"

"Not tell... but I will show thee, if thou pleaseth."

"We pleaseth."

"Very well." The frog moved to the beside and procured a bundle of blankets, which he carefully laid upon the table. Chrono reached for the bundle – not without first asking permission – and unraveled it. It came simultaneously as no surprise and great surprise that the object concealed in the blankets was a sword hilt. And not just any sword hilt, they could tell immediately, but the hilt of the sword of fire, or the Masamune, as the frog called it. "It has been my secret companion for many a year. Oft I had wondered whether to destroy it or keep it in hopes of finding the blade. Your finding hast proved my choice was correct. Chance and opportunity, they say. But alas! The blade cannot be restored. It was forged in magic, and the secrets have long ago been forgotten. Take it. It is of no use to me."

"But how – " Nadia began, but she couldn't seem to find any words beyond that.

"To come so far, only to fail now. Oh, God's wrath is most unkind."

"Spare me the drama, Froggy," Lucca sneered. "We can fix it."

"We can?" was the reply, in unison.

"Robo, can you read the writing on the hilt?"

"Yes, I can – the language is old, but not so old that I do not have it in a database somewhere. Hold on one moment... yes, I have read it. Would you like to know what it says?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure you could still read. Of _course_ I want to know what it says."

"I am reading now. 'I am two and I am one. I am grand dream of dreams, Masamune.' Wait, there is another inscription. It looks like a name. Melchior."

"Like Old Man Melchior?" Nadia asked.

Lucca snorted. "Don't be stupid. There have to be a million Melchiors out there, and besides – Old Man Melchior couldn't have anything to do with the forging of the sword because he wasn't born for another 350 years or so."

"How many Melchiors do you know, Lucca?" Chrono asked.

"Come on, it's impossible!"

"So is traveling through time, finding the hero medallion and the Masamune, and so is a giant freak-o needle monster who destroys the earth."

"What are you saying, that Old Man Melchior somehow forged a sword thousands of years before he was born?"

"No..."

"So the name is meaningless. We hit another dead end."

"Not necessarily. We just have to find someone else named Melchior around here."

"Not happening. I say we ditch this and go straight for the wizard Magus before we run out of time. We're going in, Masamahooney or not."

"Wait!" It was the frog. Chrono and Lucca ceased arguing immediately. "You wish to slay Magus himself?"

"No," was Lucca's reply. "But what's in it for you?"

"I have a vendetta against that devil of a man. Nay, there is no hope but for the Masamune. Only it can strike down that sorcerer."

Chrono grasped Lucca's arm. "Hold on. We may not be in it for the same reasons as this guy, but whatever happens we have to do our best _not_ to change history, right? So we give him a sword. Let's just get someone to 're-forge' it, just enough so history doesn't know the difference."

"We don't have that kind of time."

"Yes, but if we go after Magus and change things too much... is it really worth it that much just to find out about, well, you know what? I say we're in pretty deep here and we may as well go all the way. Nadia, Robo – what do you think?"

"Who do you know that can re-forge a sword?" Nadia asked.

"It cannot be someone from this time or earlier," Robo answered. "As we cannot have any witnesses from history who testify to faking the forgery."

"So we have to go back home?"

"Yup," Chrono finished. "That's all. We go home, ask someone to fix it – of course we pretend it's a replica for a museum or something stupid like that – then we go after Magus. The only change in history is that, instead of Magus just disappearing, some foolhardly heroes go to kill him or whatever, and everyone thinks we're the heroes 'cause we've got the medal and the sword. There are no questions. Got it everyone?"

Nadia and Robo agreed immediately. Lucca paused a moment, then finally relented. "I admit. This is a whole lot more complicated than it was on paper. But if this blows up in our face I am so saying 'I told you so.'" The frog, meanwhile, just looked on, confused as ever.


	42. XIX: The Rare Red Rock

**Chapter XIX: The Rare Red Rock**

The journey from Porre back to the portal in the explorer's lodge had been long and uneventful. But after going through the portal, they found they were not back in their own time – but in "The End of Time." (Well, it wasn't really the end of time, but it was a convenient name, so Chrono always referred to it as such.)

Again, the scene before them was nothing but inky blackness, and the platform slowly painted itself into existence. "Let's not stay here long," Lucca said.

"Right. Let's find our own time and find Melchior," Chrono finished.

"You!" a voice boomed, startling all of them. It was the creature, Spekkio, standing at the gate, still looking as cuddly and weak as he had the last time they saw him. "Look at me! Would you look at me! No, no, no, you're doing it all wrong!" The others just looked at each other, not sure of what Spekkio was trying to get them to understand. "Do I look strong to you?" Chrono shook his head. "I see. If I look strong, you are strong. If I look weak, you are weak. How long will it take you to learn?" With that, Spekkio left them.

_What on earth was that?_ Chrono thought as they leapt into the pillar of light.

* * *

They were back in Lucca's shed. "We must have returned only moments after we left," Lucca mused. "The shed is still standing. I intended it to be burned down, along with the Telepod. You know, to cover our tracks. We would just disappear."

"Well, it's a good thing we're here then," Chrono said. "We're going to need the Telepod again soon."

"Pardon me, Miss Lucca," Robo interjected. "But there is no way to tell how much time has passed since we left for the past. The fire could have died of its own accord, or someone else could have come in and extinguished it."

"Right," Lucca nodded, mulling it over. "Let's not say hello to anyone. We're here to see Melchior." And she leaned close to Chrono and added, "If this is another dead end I will see that you never live this down."

The trip to Melchior's was not too complicated. Nadia arranged to purchase four tickets for a ship to Medina (it turned out Melchior was living there at the time), and they just stayed below deck and didn't bother anyone. Medina was the same as they remembered: the Mystics didn't like the humans, but since they walked with purpose, unaccompanied by a Mystic overlord, they were assumed to be tourists or freedmen and were not hassled. The Mystics, however, would not cooperate when Chrono asked for the location of Melchior's residence. "We don't serve humans," was the usual reply. So it took a long time just to find one Mystic who would answer their questions.

Melchior lived outside the city. His house sat on a neat cobblestone path a few miles away, near the edge of a small pine grove. From afar they saw gray clouds billowing out of a chimney. The only thing missing was an old man sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch.

Chrono approached the door and knocked. "Come in," came a muffled reply. Upon entering the home, he blinked a few times in the low light. Melchior was sitting by a fire, a book in his hands. The old man had the shades pulled, reading only by the glow of the fire. Once he saw Chrono and the others, he quickly closed the book and stood up. "Ah, I expected I would see you sometime. I guess now is as good a time as any." He opened the shades and light flooded into the room. "What is it you want?"

Lucca stepped forward. She held the pieces of the Masamune, wrapped loosely in cloth. In a fantastic display, she spun open the cloth and the two pieces fell onto Melchior's table. The old man's eyes widened in surprise. "Where did you get that?"

"That's not important right now," Chrono replied. "We want to know why your name is on the sword."

Melchior waited a long time before responding. "I _am_ a weaponsmith, you know."

"That is impossible," Robo said. "You are a mere mortal. This sword was forged thousands of years ago."

"True, true. It is a mystery, is it not?"

Lucca butted it, incredulous. "Wait a minute, are you saying that _you_ forged the Masamune?"

"No. But I do want to know how you managed to find it after all these years?"

"First, you tell us how to fix it."

"Have you tried a weaponsmith?"

"You're a weaponsmith."

Melchior sighed. "True. But I cannot fix your sword."

Lucca looked like she was going to start yelling, so Chrono cut her off. "Why not?"

"This sword was not made my any materials known anymore. It was forged long ago out of Dreamstone. Unfortunately, Dreamstone was rare, and does not exist anymore. I cannot fix your sword, and no one else can. Only if there were Dreamstone still on this earth could you have any chance of repairing it."

"Okay." Chrono thought for a moment. "Hey, Melchior – when was the last time Dreamstone _did_ exist on the earth?"

"Why do you ask?"

* * *

The party returned to the End of Time. _It's getting to be tiring, going from when to when,_ Chrono thought gaily as he approached the lamppost where the old man stood.

"Ah, so you are looking for Dreamstone," the old man said.

"Wait, how did you know?" Nadia piped up. The others shushed her.

"I watch. There isn't much else to do here."

"Never mind that," Chrono said. "Just tell us where to find it. We're in a bit of a hurry."

"Hurry? What for? You think time just marches on, don't you. I'm afraid you're mistaken. It is we who are traveling through time, blissfully unaware and unable to stop it. We march forward through portraits of a moment. The moments exist forever, but we cannot go back to look at them – except, somehow, when we can. When I was taken here from my home. When you first stumbled onto that portal a year ago. You and I were snatched up out of our routine and granted the privilege of looking back to a moment.

"As for Dreamstone? It was destroyed long before any of you were born. Long before the Masamune was even found. You may go to the pillar, and mayhap you will be allowed to go there. I have seen that as well..."

Chrono just nodded. The old man was still as crazy as before, but if he said they could go back, then they could go back.

"Wait." It was Lucca. "I have some questions."

"I am listening."

"So we're traveling through time. Aren't you aware of how extremely fragile time is? How come we haven't changed anything? You've heard, of course, that one butterfly beating his wings in Choras can cause a windstorm in Guardia."

"Nonsense, but continue."

"What if we accidentally kill our ancestors? We wouldn't be born! But if we weren't born, then we wouldn't go back to kill our ancestors. And if we didn't kill them, we were born, and we would go back and do it again. Wouldn't we cause a paradox? How have we not done that yet with all the damage we have done?"

"It is simple. You have hypothesized something similar yourself."

"You mean how time travelers are somehow protected."

"Yes."

"Then how? What law protects us, if you know so much?"

"Ah. You are still thinking of time as a snapshot of everything. But it is only a place where everything happens. The time is a portrait, but the people are not."

"Now you're talking nonsense."

"You aren't protected as a matter of any law. You are being protected. The very nature of your being able to time travel means you are no longer a part of the portrait. You are above it – you can change anything you like. To the rest of the world, it will be as if your changed universe were the only one that ever occurred. But to you, you will remember the old and the new because you have painted over the original portrait and made your own version."

"I thought time was a dimension," Lucca said, folding her arms across her chest.

"But it is."

Lucca nodded, but Chrono knew she didn't buy it. They turned to go.

"Wait, before you go... don't think you can just go around painting whatever portrait you wish. It is the highest arrogance to think you can make a better portrait than the original painter."

They returned to the pillar. As they gazed into it, the picture changed. Now they saw a cliff top, surrounded by nothing but forest. Not a sign of civilization existed. "That," came the old man's disembodied voice, "is the era of Dreamstone. The beginning of the world. That is when you must go."

"The beginning," Lucca mused. "What, millions of years ago?"

"Not quite," the voice replied. "Only a short amount of time in comparison. I will leave you now. Do what you must do."

"Here goes," Chrono said, leaping into the pillar. The others followed right behind him.

Immediately they found themselves looking down on treetops, an image that stretched for miles. Wait – tree _tops_?

Chrono looked straight down. This portal was suspended in midair, over the edge of a steep drop. The fall didn't look lethal, but it would be painful. In the moment before gravity took over, he saw their trajectory, bouncing off the rocks and bushes on the way down to the bottom. And it was painful. At the bottom, Nadia took care to relieve their wounds.

A sudden sound quieted them. Chrono looked around to find that they were not alone in these woods. At least a dozen pairs of eyes met them on all sides. They were surrounded by creatures – strange creatures he had never seen before. The creatures were built with somewhat humanoid proportions, but looked more like someone had crossed the traits of a human with that of a reptile. Some had green skin, others had red or purple, and all were scaly. All stood erect, on two legs, with two human-like arms. They wore clothes – simple rags, really. But it was the eyes that scared Chrono. Large, yellow globes stared him up and down, as if sizing him up. Behind the eyes lay an obvious intelligence. These things may have been creatures, but certainly they could think and possess at least basic sentience.

_What are you?_ their eyes first read. Then, _Are you food?_

One pounced at Chrono. In a flash, Robo stood in the way, and the creature fell to the ground, stunned. The other creatures, though, took their cue and began to attack.

The magic had become so second-nature to Chrono and the others at this point that they didn't even realize they had started using it. He fired little bolts of lightning at the creatures, Lucca set them aflame, and Nadia stood by to heal. Chrono couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that they had become some sort of wizard army, something he would have thought downright stupid only a year ago. Now, the thought of wizards and strange creatures was normal. This battle was normal. It was normal to be charring the bodies of unknown creatures which may have been no devils, but only creatures surprised and reacting out of fear, not hate.

The thought went through Chrono's brain and left his head in an instant, and the remaining creatures were running for cover before he knew it. "Well that was interesting," Lucca huffed. "Come on, let's go."

"And let us go quickly," Robo added. "We have no idea if they are going to fetch reinforcements."

They had no time to ponder the idea. Before they had taken a step, they were met by dozens more pairs of eyes, peering out from the bushes. An ambush! Chrono knew this time things would not be so easy – magic was tiring, as if it were powered by lifeblood, and he was likely to drop from exhaustion after dealing with so many of them.

The creatures attacked again, this time more prepared. Some had primitive weapons, such as spears and rocks. Chrono resumed his magical volley, but it seemed for every creature he killed, another took its place. He was quickly losing energy. He was slowly being pushed back, until he bumped into Lucca and Nadia, who stood back to back, fighting to stay standing, fighting the weariness. Robo alone remained vigilant, but he could not keep his friends protected forever all on his own.

Just as everything looked hopeless (and what coincidental timing, Chrono thought) the creatures were distracted by a sound behind them. In the blink of an eye two of them were flying through the air above Chrono, flailing all the way. Where they had been now stood a new attacker. The creatures turned their attention toward this new threat, and more of them flew through the air as if they weighed no more than paper dolls. Between this new attacker and Chrono and his friends initial attacks, the creatures were easily routed. Those that remained alive ran off into the forest, leaving an array of scaly bodies, charred and beaten.

Chrono then looked to the stranger in shock – a human girl. She couldn't have been more than thirteen. Her long blonde hair stuck in slick, messy curls to her face, or stuck out in every which way. Her deep blue eyes flashed with anger, with pride, and with a generous amount of insanity. But what interested (and unnerved) Chrono the most was her choice in clothing. More specifically, she wore almost none. Except for a small loincloth, she was naked. Chrono felt his stomach leap in surprise, and he averted his eyes, looking anywhere but at her.

He could even hear his mother's voice in his head. "Chrono, we do _not_ look at women like that. Women are people, not objects, and you would be wise to respect their privacy." He felt like he was ten again, when he had walked by the neighbor's window and saw one of the neighbor girls undressing there. The same feeling had come upon him then, too – his stomach had turned and he felt his heart rate quicken, while a voice nagged in the back of his head, telling him to go home immediately and never think of it ever again.

"Strange. This woman seems to be missing key articles of clothing." Robo, of course. Only he remained calm. "At least, according to your standards."

"Oh, is that what's going on?" Nadia hissed.

Chrono stayed where he stood, hoping the girl would just go away. But suddenly she was running right up to him, her head only as high up as his chest, and she was staring right in his face. He gulped and suppressed feelings of anxiety. The whole thing would have been so much easier if only Nadia and Lucca weren't also there, drilling holes in him and the girl with their eyes. But through it all the girl showed no sign that she was even aware that her clothing was very improper to all of them.

The strange girl blurted out a string of incomprehensible chatter. Chrono looked to the others, who just shook their heads. They couldn't make sense of the words either. Robo also drew a blank. "This language is too old," he said. "Nothing matches any language in my database."

"I – we – don't understand you," Chrono began, shaking his head very slowly from side to side.

The girl just looked at him and cocked her head. She said some more unintelligible words which ran together so that Chrono couldn't figure out where one ended and the next one began.

Chrono tried again, only slower. "We don't speak your language."

"Oh, now she'll understand," Lucca said. "Talking slower totally makes you more intelligible." Chrono didn't mind her attitude. He could tell she was just as unnerved as he was.

Just then the girl spoke some more. They still had trouble making out the words exactly, but it sounded something like "Key voj tay. Odd jaw mega nev eat."

Chrono just pointed to himself. "Chrono," he said. "I am Chrono."

"K-k-Krono," she repeated. "Ah Yam. Ayam." Suddenly it was as if someone had flipped a switch in her brain. "Oooooooh! I am!" she exulted slowly. "I am! I am! You am... Chrono. I am... Ayla. You... speak... stars."

The others just looked at each other. "Did she mean we speak _words_?" Chrono asked.

"Beats me," Lucca responded. "Just be glad our language exists here."

"Thought our sense of decency certainly doesn't," Nadia quipped.

"You..." Ayla continued. "You... jiojio... you come! Come! I... come... you... Ioka faloo." Without another word, she took off running into the bushes, running on all fours like a wild cat. The others just looked at each other.

"What's a _faloo_?" they asked with their eyes.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Chrono said finally, and they followed the strange girl into the forest.

* * *

A/N: A few things.

1. My absence. I have been working, because I have to, well, eat. For all you who favorited this story and are hungry for updates, remember that no matter what, I will return here - I love writing this story, so even if the wait seems forever, patience will pay off.

2. The language. This is the second change I made that I knew someone else had done first. I maintain that I thought of it before I read it in Gibson18's story, though I cannot prove that. I just felt I needed to credit Gibson with it because this is no real original idea. It just makes sense that the common language wouldn't be around yet.

3. Ayla. So far, my interp is different than the game - so just hold on, purists. Any changes you notice are there to try to avert a time paradox the video game does not address, and I know where I'm going with it.

That is all.


	43. XIX: The Rare Red Rock 2

**The Rare Red Rock**

The air was hot and humid, Chrono noted, as they left the covering of the forest. Now he wished he were the one going shirtless. In addition, the air felt somehow strange. Chrono didn't know why, or what exactly was different, but it didn't feel like the air he had breathed in Truce, past or present. It smelled fresher, newer, like it had yet to be sucked into anyone's nostrils. Unadulterated – that described it better, Chrono thought. Pure. It gave strength to his muscles, and though Ayla tore away at a remarkable speed, he found he had no trouble keeping up. Neither did the others, who stayed hot on his heels. He wasn't even winded.

Presently they came to a clearing, and Ayla slowed a little. Along the plain were several unadorned tents, shaped like large cones. The girl immediately went to one of them, walking normally now, and the others fell in step behind her.

Once inside, Chrono had to blink a few times to adjust to the sudden low light. The thick material of the tent allowed no light in except the light that came through the entryway. Soon he was able to make out a few other shapes in the tent. There was an older man in the center of the tent, sitting on an unearthed stump, leaning against the center post of the tent. He wore a headdress of bright feathers of red, white, and green. His long white beard flowed ragged to his chest. Also in the room was an older woman, wearing a thin fur garment like a robe that covered from her shoulders and spilled into a pool of fur on the floor. She stood next to the man, and Chrono guessed her to be his wife, or mate, or whatever these primitive peoples called their women. There were more in the tent, but they stayed back, out of the way.

Ayla went right up to the old man on the stump and started chattering at him at amazing speed. The man just held up a hand to silence her and then turned toward Chrono and the others. "Aeyrtet?" was all he said.

When he got no response, he spoke again. "You understand?"

"Yes," Chrono replied.

"You speak the language of the stars," the old man said mysteriously.

"Weirdo alert," Lucca whispered in Chrono's ear. He shushed her.

The old man continued. "You wear strange garments. Where are you from?" Unlike the girl, this man spoke clearly, with only a hint of an accent. "My daughter thinks you are from Laruba."

"No, sir. We are not from here at all," Chrono said.

"Tell me, then, where are you from?"

Chrono looked at Lucca. This was her cue. "We are from many days after tomorrow."

Everyone just looked at her for a moment. Then, breaking the silence, the old man laughed once – a harsh blast of sound that seemed to shake the walls of the tent. The other people in the tent followed suit, not sure what had been said but assuming that, if their leader thought it was funny, they should too.

"Tomorrow is not. How can you be from a place that has yet to happen?" Lucca balked. Chrono knew she was thinking the same thing he was: _How could a primitive people understand what she was talking about?_ The old man continued. "So, travelers from Tomorrow-land, how have you come to this village?"

Chrono stepped forward now. "Uh, well, we're just here looking for Dream... I mean, a red rock."

If the old man had glasses he would be looking over them at the time-travelers. "There are many rocks in Ioka. There are many red rocks. Tell me, are you sent from the heavens?"

"What? No, I don't think so. We did fall out of the sky. We aren't angelic beings, if that's what you mean. What _do_ you mean?"

"It is just that we have been expecting something from the sky for many, many years. A prophecy. Do not mind. I was hoping you would be those things from the sky – you are harmless."

"I don't know about that," Lucca muttered under her breath.

"Very well, all is said. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Ioka himself."

* * *

Ioka spent the rest of his day showing Chrono and the others around his village. Quickly they learned that very few people spoke their language. Ioka did, his wife did, and he was teaching his daughter; but to the people in Ioka and elsewhere, it was a learned language, requiring much study. "It is the language of the stars and the planets; the language of the beings in the heavens," Ioka said with that mysterious air that fit well with the image of the old wise man. "They come down to us to speak, but only those who speak their language understand." His face fell as if remembering something. "Last time they came, they told of a red star which would come down from the heavens. It was a vision that caused me great fear, and I have searched the sky for many years and have seen no red star. But – prophecy has never been wrong."

As far as clothing, Ioka saw no trouble with the garments the people wore – some were covered, and others wore as little as Ayla. Neither age nor gender mattered in who wore what. Nadia tried to explain that wearing nothing but a loincloth was considered improper, but the old man looked as if she were speaking gibberish. "What is 'improper'?"

"All I'm saying is that, where we come from, people wear more clothing. It's just the way things are! Men and women remain covered, especially their... um, torsos."

"Why is this?"

"It's just... so. Well, it's embarrassing, walking around half-naked. And where we come from, you could get in trouble. You could be arrested for public indecency."

"You come from a strange world."

"And we haven't even covered the issues of relations... well, private relations..." her face was beginning to redden, and Chrono and Lucca stifled a laugh. "And the matter of temptations... it's just unbelievable."

"What my friend is trying to say is that the fashion is distracting," Robo added helpfully. "Chrono's attention has been particularly disturbed by the women of your village."

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Chrono shouted, shaking a little. "It's none of your business. Jeez! Can we just get inside and be alone or something? I can't take this anymore. I don't know how you people do it!" He stormed back into the Ioka tent, more than a little embarrassed, and flopped down on an animal skin. The Ioka apparently used the skins as beds – some skins were very comfortable and plush, but this one was not. Whatever this creature had been and done, it certainly was never groomed.

He tossed and turned as the time passed. _It's not fair! Now we're stuck in this place 'till we find the Dreamstone, and as long as these half-naked tribal people are here Nadia and Lucca are going to hate me!_ At one point he tried to sleep, but he was too nervous. Other times he would sit up and try to formulate a plan of action, but his thoughts were too scattered.

Some time later his friends came back. "Guess what?" Lucca asked, plopping down next to him. "Turns out nobody has a clue what Dreamstone is. But they say there's plenty of red rocks around if we want to go out looking. Tonight, though, is their annual harvest feast, and we're invited. I wasn't able to say no. Sorry." For once, she looked like she meant it.

* * *

The feast began after the sun went down. It was still warm – almost as warm as it had been during the day, Chrono noted, tugging at the collar of his tunic. He was sitting with Lucca and Nadia in the middle of a clearing while Robo stood behind him. They just stared at the revelry before them:

In the center of the clearing was a basic firepit, ringed by huge stones, and the people gathered around it in a great circle. They danced a strange and mystical dance, reaching and calling as if to draw out the powers of earth itself. Each of them wore a simplistic garment of leaves and flowers and a wreath of lilies on his or her head. Chrono felt bad watching, as if he were peering into something private, or something which he was not good enough to look at; but at the same time he just could not look away.

He had deduced a few things in the hours leading up to the ceremony. First, that they had arrived in a time before embarrassment. Sure, he had yet to come across anyone completely naked, but no one seemed to mind stripping down to a single loincloth. There was no worship of the body, but also no fear of it. It just was. Whether the natives wore nothing or were covered in robes, they paid no attention to the body. Robo figured it out first – the garments were merely a class symbol. Those who had robes were the chief and his family and the leaders of the village. The rest of the natives wore the most basic of robes, and the slaves and servants wore the least of all. The only reason Ayla had been out wearing so little was because the Ioka people customarily hunted with as little unnecessary covering as possible to avoid heat exhaustion (the weather, they also heard, was consistently hot and humid, year round).

The second thing Chrono deduced was that, though these people lacked common knowledge, they did not lack brainpower. The Ioka had no written language, and had no education system. When Chrono mentioned something about bacteria in the water they drank, they had only stared at him strangely. Not only had they no ability to see creatures that small, but they had no conception of how diseases worked in the first place. Yet, when Chrono explained the existence of bacteria, they had no trouble believing the science behind it.

The third thing crossed Chrono's mind after his bacteria discussion. He had asked if they were concerned about getting sick, but no one seemed to care. Sickness was rare in Ioka, despite the prevalence of germs and the lack of sanitary conditions. Lucca and Robo theorized that the atmosphere had a healing effect on the people, and Robo analyzed the air to find it was far cleaner than the air in Guardia. That answer didn't entirely satisfy Chrono, but without any substantial evidence in any other direction, he figured it would have to do for now.

"It's just sick," Nadia said, breaking the awkward silence. Her face registered nothing but shock. "These people obviously have no morals, no culture."

"Now, Nadia, we don't know that," Chrono said. "At least, I haven't seen anything. And they've been very kind to put us up like this."

"Yes, be nice," Lucca added. "These people have no science behind them. They can't help it if their morals are backward."

"Since when are science and morals the same?" Nadia sneered.

"I do not think we are in any position to judge," Robo said. "Ioka seems to have as much potential for intelligence as you are, Miss Lucca. He is trying to discover how we have come from the future and he came up with his own idiom to describe it. He says that time is a river and we have found a way to swim upstream. He also thought that because time is a river, it would be easier and take less energy to travel forward than to travel backward."

"But time isn't a river," Lucca said. "That's just a poetic way to describe it so simpletons can understand."

"Sorry. I do not mean to imply that Ioka has knowledge equal to mine. But for a people who have no previous knowledge of mathematics, science, or history, they are capable of great knowledge."

"Like children," Chrono said. The others just looked at him. "They're like a bunch of children. This must be something close to the beginning of man – well, men and women. Like they've just evolved or something. You know how children, when they're just born, don't know anything but can learn really fast? The people here are like that."

"I would hardly consider this display childlike," Nadia said.

"Well, I would," Chrono countered. "They don't know what they are. They don't think of their bodies the way adults do. You know how children like to run around naked, right?"

"No they don't." Nadia said, arms folded across her chest. Lucca just shook her head.

"What, am I the only one?"

"Let's stop talking about this right now, okay," Lucca said, holding up her hands in surrender.

Just then Ayla left the ring of dancers to join them sitting on the fringe. "Come!" she shouted to them, running up to Chrono. "Come!" Chrono was just glad she had a good amount of clothing on.

"No, Ayla," he said, his voice pitched higher – _as if I were talking to a child_, he noted – "We're not interested. We're just here to find the Dreamstone." At this point he was talking mostly to himself. "You know, the red rock."

"Red rock?" Ayla parroted. "Many reds rocks in Ioka!"

Lucca was ready. "Could you show us one?"

"You come?" she pointed to the ring of dancers.

"You want me to dance?" Chrono asked.

"Dance?"

"You know, dance." Chrono shook his hips a bit.

"Ohhhh, dance. You dance."

Chrono sighed and stood up. He may as well – what else was there to do? Nadia had retreated further into herself than ever, Lucca had shut out any experience that didn't fit her preconceived ideas, and Robo was hardly his idea of good company. Ayla took his hand before he knew it. Lucca and Nadia started to follow, but the girl held out her other hand to stop them. "Chrono dance."

"Ooooh, she likes you," Lucca teased. Chrono felt his face starting to redden, so he turned away and ran to the firepit, Ayla right behind.

What could he say? The dance was fun. Nearby, a few musicians beat on some hollowed out logs for rhythm, and the people swayed back and forth, repeating some sort of mantra. Eventually he figured out the steps – a complicated mess of crossing legs and arms and rolling heads. But once he got into the beat, he felt his spirit being tugged along by some unseen force until he lost track of all his other senses.

And as quickly as it started, the dance was over. "Thanks," he said to Ayla, extending a hand. She looked at it with curiosity. _Oh – they don't do handshakes here_. Suddenly she jumped at him and held him in a tight hug. "Chrono dance!" she exulted. He left the circle after that, feeling very self-conscious.

The next thing he knew, someone was in his face. This boy did not look happy. He stood a little taller than Chrono, his wild blonde hair sticking out in many directions. His piercing gray eyes showed little intelligence but much fervor. If this boy wanted to hurt Chrono, it was obvious there would be no stopping him. The boy's features were hard and strong, and he wore only one fur, draped over one shoulder and hanging down to his knees. Chrono could see his muscular chest and stomach through holes in the fabric.

The boy stared at him for what seemed a full five minutes. Chrono did not dare to move or even blink. A shout from his left broke the awkward silence. It was Ayla – she shouted some string of incomprehensible chatter at the boy, who just bowed his head to her and left, but not before giving Chrono one last stare down.

"Kino no like you," Ayla said slowly, forming the words carefully.

"Who is Kino?" Chrono asked.

"Kino... my..."

"What? Kino is your what?"

"I... I... Yedges?" she just shrugged. Chrono guessed she just didn't know the word for it.

"Brother? Uncle? Friend?"

"No..."

"Never mind. Forget Kino. Just tell me where you keep your rocks. You know, the red rocks?"

Ayla started, as if awakened from a daydream. "Ohhhhh, I give reds rocks."

Chrono's ears pricked. "Really? Now?"

"Now? I give reds rocks. Come." She grabbed his hand and dragged him away.

"Where are we going?" Chrono asked. They were crawling through some undergrowth now, having left the clearing. Low-hanging branches scraped his head and his free arm, which he held up to protect his face. "Lucca?" he shouted. "Nadia? Robo?" The trees swallowed up the sound of his voice.

Eventually they came to a stop by a large tree. "Stay," Ayla commanded, while she dug around the roots of the tree. "Stay, stay, stay."

As she dug, the others joined Chrono. "We were following," Lucca whispered. "I don't trust this girl."

Ayla didn't seem to care that there were suddenly three other people there. "You... only?" she asked, pointing to them.

"No one followed us," Chrono responded. "At least, I think that's what you're asking."

Ayla sat down at the base of the tree. In her hands she held two crude cups and a large bottle. "Sit." Chrono sat across from her as she handed him one of the cups. "You stay awake, I give red rock."

"What?"

"Chrono, it's a drinking game," Lucca butted in. "It's got to be. Why else would she have dragged you away from her parents?" Nadia just clicked her tongue and turned away.

"I'll do it."

"Are you out of your mind?" Nadia practically shrieked.

"Shh, do you want them to hear us?" Lucca said.

"Why do you care?"

"Guys," Chrono said, putting his hands on their shoulders. "If I do it, she'll give me the red rock."

"You don't know that," Lucca said. "And you don't know if the red rock is Dreamstone."

"Why not try? She's the only one that's offered it at all so far. It's not like I've never had a glass of wine."

Ayla had already poured both their drinks. "One," she said, downing hers instantly.

Chrono took a sip and nearly coughed up a lung. "Newbie," Lucca laughed, and he shot her a death look. He slowly finished his drink – it tasted like pure alcohol with a hint of a peachy taste. He never really drank alcohol before. Maybe once or twice when he had been to someone's home for dinner, he had sampled some wine or beer. But this was too much. The taste alone was enough to convince him he had made a stupid decision.

But if it meant he could get Dreamstone, it was worth it. "Two," Ayla said, pouring another drink. This one was easier for Chrono to stomach. The third and fourth were also easier – the taste wasn't as strong, but he also noticed his other senses had been dulled as well.

Ayla went digging again to get another bottle, and Chrono saw her stumbling around to look for it. Good. She was just as tipsy as he was. But there was one thing she hadn't counted on: Chrono was much larger and heavier than her, and also male. He remembered something his mother had told him – something about how men could hold their liquor better than women. But the thought was muddled in his mind. The next thing he knew, his glass was full again.

Soon Chrono had lost track of how many drinks he had downed (Robo said the next day it was eleven). He was beginning to feel sick. Dreamstone or not, no prize was worth this. But before he could give up, he felt he was being dragged to his feet. "Chrono, Chrono, are you all right?" It sounded like Lucca's voice, but it came from so far away... "Chrono, she's totally knocked out. You win."

"Getoffame!" He yelled. Strange – he couldn't form the words. His tongue wasn't working right, and his words got slurred. "I'm okay," he said, but it sounded more like "Ahmoggay."

"No you're not – you're totally wasted!"

"No!" Chrono pushed Lucca away and stumbled a bit before using the tree to steady himself.

"Watch out, you're going to step on Ayla!"

Chrono looked down. Oh yeah, there was a girl down there. She was sprawled out over the roots, limbs splayed in every direction. She looked uncomfortable.

Suddenly Chrono felt hot. Without thinking he pulled off his tunic and tossed it to the ground.

"Chrono! What are you doing? Put your shirt back on right now."

"No one wants to see that. Come on."

"No, _you_ come on!" Chrono heard himself saying. "It's not like they care or anything." He stumbled toward Nadia. "C'mere, let me lean on you."

"What? No, you're drunk. Stay away from me."

"I don't wanna do anything funny, I..." _Shoot, what _do_ I want to do?_ But he didn't get any farther before he bent over double and threw up. The others just watched with pained expressions as he stood up again, sighed, then quickly tipped over and heaved again.

"Gross. Come on, let's get you out of here."

Chrono suddenly couldn't see anything. He just felt his body hitting the ground, and he was out.

* * *

A/N: Boy, I'm looking over the old stuff and I see I need to do some major editing.

Anyway - some things:

1. If you are curious, Ayla is speaking a real language. If you know it, keep it to yourself because I am murdering this language due to being a newbie. Also, I am spelling everything phonetically, so putting it in Google Translate won't help. Just know that these are real words and sentences. No, I will not provide a translation. Don't ask. If you really want to know, look it up yourself.

2. If you are wondering why I changed around the Prehistoric Era, I'll try to explain. There are actually many, many reasons for it, but I'll list three reasons for specific changes. First, as soon as Ayla wears the clothing she does in the game, I acknowledge that the Ioka people have modern sensibilities. CT may not be entirely realistic, but I'm trying to make it as plausible as possible. Second, the conditions of the atmosphere are so in order to reflect the extreme contrast of this era to the next (if you for some reason don't know the story, I won't spoil WHY the atmospheres are different). I gave the atmosphere some "healing" properties because let's face it - the Ioka would be a whole lot more sad cat living in tents in the middle of nowhere without it. Third and finally, I gave the Ioka some brainpower because of the language barrier. If the Ioka speak English (or my "common language" in this story), then they would either speak it well, which would mean the language doesn't evolve over thousands of years, or they speak broken English, which would indicate they are still making up the language. But if they were inventing language, then broken English would logically be the smartest thing they are capable of, which won't serve where I'm going with this. So they speak a different language, which accounts for the broken English without turning everyone into a dummy.

(tl;dr)

Anyway, that should answer some basic questions so you don't have to ask in the reviews. If you already have - sorry, I haven't looked there for a little while. Consider those questions answered.


	44. XX: Footsteps! Follow!

**Chapter XX: Footsteps! Follow!**

Chrono awoke with a gasp. Where was he? The last thing he remembered, he was in the middle of the forest. Now he was lying on a mat of fur, someplace with almost no light. He could hear very little, only the faint sound of wind and footsteps coming from outside.

Now he remembered. _It is sometime in the past. Hundreds of years – no – thousands. Maybe millions. The girl, Ayla... she promised me a red rock, and we drank something strong. How did I get back here, though?_ He sat up quickly, then instantly regretted the motion. His head throbbed, and his stomach churned.

"Hello?" he finally ventured to say. "Is anyone else here?" No response. It was just as well. The others would just scold him for being so foolish. Here he was now with a hangover and no Dreamstone. This primitive world was getting worse every second.

Slowly Chrono stood and opened the tent flap. Light burst in like a missile, and he felt intense heat and humidity cover his skin. Ah yes, he'd forgotten about the atmosphere. Suddenly he felt as though he would die of heat exhaustion if he didn't find water immediately.

"Did you sleep well?" Robo's voice called from just beside his right ear. Chrono jerked in surprise. "Sorry, I did not mean to startle you."

"What's going on? What happened after – well, after you know."

Robo sort of bowed, an expression Chrono had begun to believe indicated embarrassment or insecurity. "After you passed out, Miss Lucca charged me to take care of you. I carried you back to Ioka's tent, where you slept soundly. Also, I took care of the other girl, Miss Ayla. I have been here ever since." Chrono just stared. His eyes felt like they weren't attached to his head. "So did you sleep well?"

"No. Yes. I don't know..." Chrono put a hand to his head. "I think I have a hangover."

"A hangover? I remember Miss Lucca telling me about that. Do you require some assistance?"

"No thanks. It just feels like a headache."

"I am sure, then, that Nadia could soothe you if you asked her."

Chrono paused, his mind filling with thoughts of her. He saw her again, lying on the cot after the battle at Zenan Bridge, looking used and worn. "I don't know if she'd be up for it." The image still haunted him. Something had happened to her that day, or maybe even earlier. He made a mental note to talk to her sometime.

At that moment Lucca appeared. Or rather, Chrono heard her approach. Her rapid loud panting and the sound of her boots stomping through underbrush made sure of that. "Chrono, Robo! It's gone! It's just gone!"

"What is gone, Miss Lucca?"

"The gate key!"

Chrono's head still felt fuzzy. "The what?"

"Don't pull that stunt, you moron. The _gate key_. The one device we need to enter the time portals! The one device that, should we not have it, would strand us here forever."

"It can't be just gone," Chrono stammered.

"Thanks for your help."

"All right, tell me what happened."

Lucca sighed and cracked her knuckles. "Nothing. I was with Nadia at the festival, trying to milk Ioka for some more information on Dreamstone. Then... that didn't go well. We got to talking about Ayla... and that's all."

"You sure?"

"Yes. And then I woke up in the middle of the clearing and the gate key was gone."

"Huh. So you had a little bit to drink as well, didn't you."

"Shut up. Someone in this village has it and we'll have to search them... starting with Ioka."

They barely got more than two steps before Chrono blurted "wait, what about Nadia?"

"What about her? She's probably sleeping, and if we can just get the stupid thing back without having to wake her she'll never have to know. Just between you and me, she's not – well, pulling her weight."

"Hey, she's been through a lot."

"We've all been through a lot. And we got over it. Come on, I don't want to argue about it."

"But we're a team, Lucca. We're doing this together – we've been through everything together. Even that crazy Spekkio gave us our mission together. No, I don't care what you say. She's in."

"Fine."

A minute later they were outside her tent. She had a whole tent to herself – apparently the people in the village shared Lucca's opinions. "Nadia?" Chrono called in. "Are you decent? Are you awake?" No answer. "Robo? Go in."

In a moment they heard a shriek, followed by Nadia yelling "get out!" Robo quickly exited.

"She is indisposed."

"Nadia!" Chrono called back in. "We need you. Come on, we've got big trouble."

"No!" came the reply. "You figure it out yourself!"

He held up a hand toward Lucca before she could say anything. "All right, then," Chrono called. "I'm coming in, decent or not."

Immediately upon entering he had to blink a few times. The tent seemed pitch black, and the sudden change in lightning did nothing to help his headache. After a few moments he noticed Nadia sprawled out face down on a fur. She didn't even move when Chrono entered. "Come on. I know you're not exactly having a good time, but we're really in trouble here." No answer. "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" She just rolled over. "Don't do this. Listen, Lucca and I are working our butts off. I've never done this saving the world business, okay? Why are you acting this way?" _That sounded wrong_. "I mean... um, that is to say, we're all on the same team, okay?"

_Well, now this is awkward_. Chrono just stood and left the tent. He made a mental note to have a real discussion with her sometime.

A moment later he heard Nadia's voice right behind him. "What's wrong?"

An hour later Chrono, Nadia, Lucca, and Robo sat in Chrono's tent. Ayla was with them as well. As soon as she heard that they were searching the village, she became very interested. Chrono just thought the girl liked the attention, as she seemed to have no clue what was going on. She had been totally stumped about Robo (as all the past cultures seemed to be), and Chrono still remembered their odd conversation:

"What is that?" she had asked.

"That is Robo. He is a robot."

"What is a robot?"

"A robot is a machine that... well, it's a kind of machine. Robo is a machine that does what humans do."

Ayla just stared, wide-eyed. "What is a machine?"

"A machine is like... um, it's a thing that does stuff. Listen, you'll need to talk to Lucca about this, I don't know."

"He is a man."

"No, he's a robot."

"He is a man... has... strange... cloth."

Chrono just shrugged. "You got me. Robo is a man in strange clothes."

Ayla only got more annoying as time passed. She wanted to know where Chrono was from. What the gate key was. What a gate was. Why Lucca wore a helmet. If Chrono liked Lucca. If Chrono like Nadia. If Chrono liked her. That it was too late because she liked Kino.

And all that the group had learned was that no one in Ioka village knew anything. However, one of the villagers was missing: Kino. But Ayla assured everyone that he usually would disappear for long periods of time. So there was that. But soon Kino reappeared, and the village was abuzz. He was covered in bruises and cuts and refused to look at anyone.

Ayla went straight up to him and they started a furious conversation. Chrono and the others couldn't catch a single word, so they just sat and watched with the rest of the villagers until Ayla dragged Kino right up to them. "El nayzaysht!" she shouted.

Kino just looked at his feet, his hair dangling in dirty, matted clumps around his forehead. He mumbled something nearly inaudible. Ayla didn't seem to like what he said, so she gave him a violent shove. He shoved back, and they were soon tumbling on the ground. Chrono thought the moment would have been better if they were enveloped in a dust cloud.

Ayla stood up again and brushed her hair out of her face. "He say sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"He say he stealed your... shiny... stone?"

Lucca perked up. "Well, tell him it wasn't funny and he should give it back right now!"

"He also say he... losed... it."

"He lost it? How? Where!"

Ayla and Kino squabbled a bit more and she said "he say reptites take it."

"What are Reptites?"

"You do not know?"

"We're not from around here," Chrono jumped in. "How many times do we have to ask this question?"

"Reptites bad! No... reptites are reptites. They... human... but no. Lizard and human. We live... together... before. Now they follow Azala. She is bad. She is very, very, very bad. She wants Ioka and... everything... to her alone."

It was no well-prepared speech, but it would have to do. "All right, big bad guys wanna take over the world. Cool. We've done this before. So what about our key? How do we get that back?"

She looked puzzled for a moment, then brightened up. "Come!" she shouted, bounding off into the underbrush, with the others struggling to catch up. The dense ferns and bushes slowed them down considerably, and Ayla would often stop to wait for them. Nadia kept up the rear, lagging behind, which slowed them down even more.

They ran for what seemed hours, but didn't feel very winded. _The atmosphere_, Chrono remembered. It was becoming very convenient. But now he didn't know where they had run to, and Ayla was just standing by a cave entrance, looking excited. How she found this particular cave, he couldn't tell. Everything looked the same to him. A startling thought occurred to him – what if this was a trick and the girl left them here? He wasn't sure they could find their way back. Suddenly this time period didn't seem as quaint.

"Here!" Ayla proclaimed. "Reptites live here!"

"So?" Nadia grumbled.

"So?" Ayla repeated. "So? What is 'so'?"

"She means, why is that important?" Chrono said. "Do these reptites have our gate key?"

Ayla shrugged. "We go," was all she said, indicating for them to follow her in the cave.

Before she made it in, Chrono grabbed her shoulder. "No. This could be dangerous. You go back to your family."

"No... no... no..." Ayla chuckled. "I go. We go. You need me."

"Trust me, we've been through a lot more than you think. We'll be fine. Your parents probably wouldn't want you risking yourself for us like this."

"So?" Ayla said mockingly.

"So you go home. Thank you very much for your help."

"No, I go. You fight me?" she grinned, balling her hands into fists and crouching down. "I am strong. You say go home, so I fight you."

"Territorial much?" Lucca mumbled from behind him.

"No, I won't fight you, Ayla. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

She paused for a moment and stared into his eyes. Her own deep blue eyes seemed to penetrate him, either in anger or curiosity. The moment seemed to stretch on for minutes until she broke his gaze and started to laugh. "You think I... get hurt!" She buckled over from laughter and used the rock wall nearby for support. "You do not know me!"

"No, I suppose I don't..."

"I go – we go – and I give red rock!"

"What? No, you promised that if I drank that stuff with you, you'd give us the Dreamstone."

"I promise... nothing! I... not remember." She quickly looked away.

Chrono just rubbed his temples. "Fine. I don't care anymore. But if something happens, I am not responsible."

"What is 'responsible'?"

"That means – "

"That means," Lucca interrupted, "that we either go in and get the key or go home now. This has gone on long enough."

Ayla pointed into the cave. "Footsteps! Follow!" she said, and bounded inside.

Sure enough, there were tracks leading in. They were mostly small, and definitely looked like reptile tracks. Some of the prints were much larger, though, and Chrono could only imagine what kind of monstrous beast lived inside the cave. But the girl had already entered, so either she had no clue or she was certain they posed no danger. _Or she's a silly little girl who thinks she's tougher than she is, _he thought as they stepped into the dark opening.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. It was sort of sweet, like rich soil or rotting wood, and he felt a little uneasy. Also there was the lack of light, but there were some lit torches on the walls ahead, which at least indicated that someone used this place often. Other than that there was nothing – no sounds, no lizard monsters leaping out of shadows to devour them. The silence scared him more than any monsters could have anyway. But Ayla had said that not all the reptites were bad, so if they were lucky no one would mind them trespassing.

Presently the cavern opened up in front of them. Before, they had been walking down a sort of corridor, or at least that was the impression. Now they were in a large open dome, with multiple levels and exits. Hanging from the ceiling was a large metal bowl filled with something, probably wood, burning. It, in addition to the torches on the wall, filled the room with an eerie, flickering red light. Everything about the place screamed "trap" to Chrono, and he halted the others.

Ayla didn't pay any mind, though. She strode in boldly, hands balled into fists. "No!" Chrono half shouted, half whispered, and he ran into the room and grasped her shoulder. She tensed and whirled around, but relaxed when she saw him. Then she started to chuckle.

"You scare me," she said.

Lucca came up to Chrono and whispered "something's not right. I don't like the looks of this. Should we, you know, prepare?"

"Yes," he whispered back, then turned to give the information to Nadia and Robo. But behind them was a group of shadows, twenty or more. They looked like the creatures they had fought when they first met Ayla. Chrono turned back and saw more creatures pouring out of every other entrance in the room. Directly in front of them even more approached him.

Immediately he pulled out his sword and pointed it straight ahead. "Back!" he cried. But before he could take two steps he felt something strike him in the back of the legs, knocking him to his knees. Something was wrapped around his head, something smelling sweet like vines, blocking his vision. He felt a blow to his skull and then felt no more.

* * *

The next thing he knew, he felt something being pulled off his face. _Where am I? What happened?_ He tried to bring his hands to his face to feel if it was still there, but he couldn't move his arms. He was sitting, he knew that much, somewhere in a dark room. His arms were bent behind him, wrapping around something. A pole – that was it – his arms were wrapped around a pole and then somehow tied together at the wrist. His sword was missing. He heard no sound yet, save for his breathing. "Hello?" he called weakly.

"Chrono?" came Nadia's voice, somewhere to his right.

"Thank goodness someone else is here," he sighed. "Are you all right?"

"Chrono, I'm tied up."

"Me too. At least whatever's going on, we're wanted alive. We've been through worse."

"Chrono, I'm scared."

He was about to say _don't be_, but caught himself. "That's okay."

Another voice gurgled from his left. "Huh, what?" Lucca. She sounded like she was just waking up. "Hey, what's the idea?"

"Hello, Lucca," Chrono and Nadia said in unison.

"Oh, we're hostages."

"At least they want us alive."

"Doesn't matter. They're no match for us."

Just then light flooded the room. Some creatures nearby quickly scurried away. They were still in a cave, he noticed, though there was no way of knowing if it was the same cave. He, Nadia, and Lucca were all tied up the same way, wrists bound behind poles, them sitting on large stones. Ayla was there as well, across from him, though she still looked unconscious. Robo was nowhere to be seen.

"Forgive my friends," a new voice said, oily and smooth. "They don't like trespassers." Into view came one of the creatures – its skin was green and scaly, like the others, but it wore fine robes of red and white, as well as some spikes mounted on the shoulders. "I don't like trespassers either," it said, speaking with strangely perfect diction.

"Thank goodness someone else around here speaks plainly," Lucca muttered.

"The others also don't speak our language. I'm afraid they won't be able to understand you if you beg for help. They won't understand the girl, either."

"Um, not to interrupt," Chrono said, trying to sound uninterested, "but what's going on? Are we supposed to be your hostages or something?"

"Yeah, why are we tied up?" Lucca grumbled. _Curious_, Chrono thought, _that she hasn't burned her way out of the ropes._ If she was willing to pretend to be helpless, he figured he should do the same.

"Yeah, why?"

"Let me apologize. We were uncertain if you meant us harm. We have no intention of harming you... provided you answer my questions. Let me introduce myself. I am called Azala. I am the queen of the reptites. Now it's your turn." She went over to Nadia. "And you are?" Nadia just stared blankly at him. "Do you talk?"

She looked down at her feet. "Marle," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. Speak up. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Marle. My name is Marle."

"Interesting. And you?" she said to Chrono.

"Um... I'm Melchior."

She approached Lucca. "I'm Leene, the queen of Guardia."

"Guardia. Strange... where is this 'Guardia'?"

Chrono and Lucca exchanged a look. "We... don't know," Chrono said. Azala narrowed her eyes at him. "Well we know, but we don't know how to get there from here."

"Hmm, interesting. It does sound to me as though you are lying to me. I promise to be entirely truthful to you. The least you can do is be truthful with me."

"Well, it's true. We can't physically get back to Guardia," Lucca said.

"I see that you will not cooperate with me. You are like the Ioka, stubborn and stupid. Your people don't have half the intelligence I have. You know, this planet isn't big enough for the both of us, Reptite and Human."

"Oh, please, that is such a cliché."

"No, Lucca, where we come from it is, but maybe this place and time is the first time the phrase was ever said," Chrono added with a chuckle.

Azala just narrow her eyes at the two of them. "Something you will learn quickly is that I will not tolerate people trying to make a fool out of me." She backed up until she was outside their circle. "And now, for the reason you are all still alive." Slowly she bent down behind Ayla's rock, deliberately drawing out the moment of revelation.

Chrono knew before he saw the object that Azala held the gate key. Her talon-like hands gripped the key daintily, as if Azala realized she held a valuable object. "Do any of you _apes_ know what this is? One of my own found it on some poor, dumb human." She looked around to the three of them, but no one said anything. "I thought 'how curious,' because, you see, the humans have no intelligence and don't know how to build such interesting objects. Then you arrived and my problem was solved. I assume this trinket belongs to you."

"Yes," Chrono said. Lucca shot him a look, and he shrugged back.

"Ah, good. You're cooperating. Perhaps I'll spare you." Everyone rolled their eyes at that. Azala either didn't notice or didn't care. She just held up the gate key in wonderment. "So, which one of you wants to tell me what this thing does?"

"It's a time machine," Chrono said quickly. Nadia huffed. "Well, it's not actually a time machine. But we use it to travel through time. I guess you could call it a gate key."

Azala stared blankly at him. "Fool. You speak nonsense. Surely you know how to lie better than that." She whirled to face Nadia. "What does it do?"

"It does what Chrono said it does," she replied as unemotionally as possible. Chrono wasn't sure if the fear in her voice was an act or not.

"Who's Chrono?" Azala asked, smiling wickedly. Nadia's eyes went wide when she realized her mistake. "Don't you mean 'Melchior'?" She started to speak, but Azala held up a claw. "Too late. You lied. Just as well – I think I won't get any information out of you like this. No..." she went up to Ayla and gently smacked her face.

The girl grunted and awoke with a start. "Meg uhlek!" she screeched. "Meg uhlum meend!" She jerked at the vines holding her arms. When that didn't work she tried biting at Azala, but the reptite queen stayed just out of her reach until Ayla calmed down.

"I am going to ask my aide Nizbel to get the truth from you. It would be better for all of you if you cooperate quickly." She turned to face the darkness. "Nizbel!" she called. Immediately they all felt a rumbling – a slow steady pounding that shook the rocks they sat on.

Soon a humongous shadow entered their field of vision. As it approached, Chrono could pick out its finer details. It stood over fifteen feet tall and stood erect, like a man. It had the head of a triceratops, talon-like feet, and a thick, monstrous tail. But it's arms, hands, and legs were humanoid, rippling with muscles. The light slowly illuminated its scaly skin, brown and weathered. In its arms was another humanoid form, of normal size.

Nadia gasped. Chrono and Lucca just stared as the creature called Nizbel dumped Robo unceremoniously to the ground. Robo's eyes were dull, and one eye was dangling from its socket by a mess of wires. He wasn't moving.

"So," Azala said, breaking the eerie stillness. "Are we ready to tell the truth?"


	45. XX: Footsteps! Follow! 2

**Footsteps! Follow!**

No one reacted for a full minute. Could Robo die? Was he just out of commission? Chrono studied Lucca's face – she looked tense, which made him nervous. Obviously she didn't see a quick fix in store here.

"Your friend here thought his metal suit could protect him," Azala continued. (Of course – Chrono realized – she didn't know machines either.) "Your friend was sorely mistaken. Here are my conditions: I will ask a question. For every incorrect answer, Nizbel here will be forced to hurt you." She paused to let the thought sink in. "Don't worry," she said slowly, "I don't want to hurt you. Nizbel doesn't really want to either, as far as his primitive brain can want anything. But if you make him angry you will regret it."

Something about the tone of her voice snapped Lucca out of her trance. "Listen, we already told you."

"Yeah," Chrono added. "It's our way of getting back to our own time period. I don't care about your stupid reptite/human warfare. Just give us the key and we'll be out of your hair forever. Well, not your hair... but we won't bother you anymore."

"Lies," Azala blurted. "Of course, they are most ingenious lies. I've never heard an ape invent fantasies such as yours. But your kind would say anything to save your own skin, so I may have just underestimated your capacity for intelligence. That is all. But no one has ever talked so easily. You are hiding something."

"No more games," Lucca snapped. "Just let us go or you'll regret it."

Azala looked stricken – personally offended, Chrono would say, that someone interrupted her. She strode over to Lucca. "I think I am in the position of power here."

"Yeah right. You're a cardboard cutout of every schoolchild's action-adventure stories. You're probably their greatest inspiration. You can't come up with one original threat, and there probably haven't been that many before you to take a crack at it." Lucca paused as she noticed Azala's darkening expression and backed off a little. "So we're tired and cranky. Just let us go."

"You are so bothersome," Azala sighed, "that I am considering it."

"Oh," Nadia said hesitantly. "And our gate key. We need that back."

Azala laughed – an abrasive bark. "Gate key. You still expect me to believe it. I'll return your key if you answer me one question. What village are you from?"

"Guardia," Chrono fumed. "We've been over this – "

"Stop!" Azala held a claw out to Chrono. "I want this weakling to answer."

Nadia physically shrank back. "Chrono's right. We're from Guardia."

"Fool! There is no Guardia. You think I don't know this?"

"We're from Guardia, one thousand and one years after it was founded."

"Nizbel!" At the command, the hulking beast went over to Ayla and just waited. The girl spat on the monster's feet.

"How do you get there?"

"I..." Nadia looked at her feet. "I don't know."

"Nizbel."

The monster raised both arms in the air. Chrono didn't have time to realize what was about to happen. He just watched as Nizbel slammed its fists on Ayla's thighs. He heard the sharp report of both her legs breaking. To her credit, Ayla made no cry, and didn't writhe in pain at all. She sat still, eyes burning with hatred and starting to water. Her breathing came in ragged, short bursts.

"How," Azala continued with a smile, "do you get to Guardia?"

"I don't know because it's complicated!" Nadia screamed, trying very hard not to look at Ayla. "You'll have to ask Lucca. I don't understand time travel."

"Oh, that's enough," Chrono heard Lucca mutter. He saw a flash of light at her wrists, and some smoking tendrils were left at her feet – the remnants of her bonds. She leapt up onto Nizbel's side and climbed up onto its back. With a feral cry of victory she conjured a giant fireball to consume the beast's head.

But Nizbel didn't seem to notice the damage. Despite a charred, steaming face (complete with the smell of burning flesh), it effortlessly reached behind and plucked Lucca off its back, then threw her against the rough rock wall. Another crack rang out, and she lay crumpled on the ground, motionless.

Chrono pulled against his bonds, but to no avail. They weren't incredibly tight, but the reptites were able to tie a knot. As far as he knew, electricity had no power to break those thick vines. If only Spekkio hadn't given them such contrived limits to their power...

"Well done," Azala said, and it was then Chrono noticed she had distanced herself from the battle. In fact, she had practically left the room. "I've never seen worthless apes perform such tricks." She moved tentatively to Lucca, at the ready if her crumpled body were to suddenly spring up and run after her. Azala gave her a few kicks, and visibly relaxed as Lucca moaned. "Good, she isn't dead yet. But she won't be moving. It seems she has a few broken bones in her spine. I've heard that's a permanent condition with you humans.

"It seems in all the confusion that we have lost the point. Oh yes, I was asking questions which you refused to answer correctly, that was it. Well, I have changed my mind. It seems you are possessed of a certain, shall I say, magical charm. Give me your secret power and I will give you your key."

"What power?" Nadia said, shaking.

Azala sighed. "Nizbel," she said matter-of-factly, as if the whole ordeal had suddenly become boring.

"No! Wait!" Chrono's cry stopped Nizbel mid-swing. "I'll tell you. Just don't hit her!" _And if I'm lucky, I'll figure out how to undo these bonds in the meantime. Perhaps they don't expect humans to be smart enough to untie ropes._

"I agree to your proposal. Nizbel, if the boy lies, kill the girl. He seems to like her." Nadia clucked her tongue.

"All right," Chrono said, ignoring the insinuation. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. What is your power? Who gave it to you? Gods? Were you born with it? Are you beings from the spirit world?"

Chrono jumped in before Azala could get another word out. "Woah, don't go all crazy on me. I don't understand it either. We were given this gift by someone called Spekkio."

"Such a strange name. Go on."

"That's all I can say," Chrono shrugged. Well, as much of a shrug as could be done with both arms tied behind his back. "No wait, I just remembered. I can't take you to Spekkio."

"Convenient," Azala huffed. "And why not?"

"Because we need that gate key to get there." Azala's eyes narrowed. She knew he was trying to play some sort of trick, but hadn't yet figured out what. "So let's make a deal. You let us go, and we'll use the key to take you to Spekkio."

"You are setting a trap for me. You apes think you can outwit me."

Chrono smiled. "You have no way of knowing that."

"How do I know this Spekkio even exists?"

"Oh come on, a girl just created a huge fireball from nothing and almost vaporized your pet and you're going to doubt a little story." Chrono winced – that last part may have been too harsh, maybe just harsh enough to set her off. Any moment he expected Azala to have Nadia snuffed before he could get loose.

But the moment never came. _Good – she's hooked_. "Deal?" Chrono squeaked.

"No. You will tell me where to go and I will go alone. You really think I would let you go? You will kill me the first chance you get."

"I promise not to harm you," Chrono said. "And I never lie. Isn't that right, Nadia?"

"I suppose," she replied unenthusiastically.

"Where is this Spekkio?" Azala asked once more. "Tell me now and I will see that you are not killed."

"Well, the directions are somewhat complicated."

"I don't care. Speak up or the girl dies!"

"First you have to get out of here. But I don't remember which direction to go exactly since we were unconscious for a while. All I know is we came from the Ioka village. Is that south of here? I wouldn't know, I'm not very good with directions." Azala was becoming visibly impatient. Chrono grinned a little. "Well, whatever direction the Ioka village is in, that's the one you want. 'Course, from there I don't remember well either, but we were up in some mountain. Or at least by a ravine. See, the gate is this big blue thing and it was up in the air, so we all fell down a ravine to get here. But I see no reason why you couldn't climb up it again. When you go through the gate, you'll probably arrive at some sort of wooden platform, if you've ever seen one of those around here, and... you know what, forget it."

Azala registered surprise.

"It's too late. We've taken too long."

"What is this?" She grinned evilly. "You have run out of lies?"

"Nah," Chrono shrugged, holding his hands out wide. "I managed to loosen the ropes is all." Before Azala's shocked expression could register, he fired one bolt from his left hand and sent Nizbel to the ground writhing. He noted the ease with which he incapacitated the beast and immediately launched a kick into Azala's chest, knocking her back into a sitting position under Nadia.

Chrono leapt up, ready for action, but Nizbel was slow in rising. _Strange how fire didn't seem to do any harm, but one measly bolt of lightning and the thing is brought to its knees. Too bad I didn't do this earlier._ He chuckled at the thought and then leapt onto Nizbel's back. It reached weakly for him but never got a handhold. Every time it got close, Chrono sent a surge of electricity through himself into it, sending it back down to its knees. _Maybe Spekkio did know what he was doing._

Soon Nizbel starting crawling around, trying to shake Chrono off. The electricity was good at wearing the beast down, but it wasn't doing any permanent damage as far as he could see. Chrono quickly pulled off his belt and wrapped it around one of Nizbel's arms to hold on.

"Stop! Nizbel!" Azala cried, finally standing up. "Get off his back or I'll kill the girl!" She ran to Nadia, who kicked her in the chest, knocking her to her rump again. Chrono met her eyes – she evidently had never been challenged before. "You will suffer..."

In watching the reptite queen stumble about Chrono stopped focusing on Nizbel a little too long. The beast gave a hearty shake and Chrono was sent tumbling to the hard dirt, luckily still holding his belt. He'd worn that thing for years and it had never come in handy until now.

Nizbel stood to face him, its soulless eyes staring him down. It almost perched itself on the earth, as if ready to pounce. Chrono did the same. For a long second they just stared.

Then Nizbel leapt, much too slowly to be any danger. Chrono ran up to one of the walls and grabbed a torch, then ran to Nadia, all in the time it took for Nizbel to turn. The beast's size and power left its speed wanting. Before the beast could take a step Nadia's bonds were broken and she immediately headed for Lucca.

"No, stay with me," Chrono shouted, running toward Nizbel. The beast made another lunge, which Chrono dodged again. He fired another jolt of electricity to bring it down, then leapt up on Nizbel's back again. With an expert swing, he wrapped the belt around the beast's neck and fastened it as tight as it could go. "Quick! Nadia, now!"

"Now what?"

"You're the Ice Queen, right?"

She squinted. "Yeah, I think so."

"Plus your affinity is ice and water and that kind of stuff," he continued, smirking.

"This is not the time for jokes," Nadia scolded. "You want me to encase him in ice or something? I don't think I can do that."

"No, you just need to – " At that moment Nizbel jerked, trying to free himself of the belt. Chrono just held on and continued. "You just need to get this thing wet. The belt, I mean, not the creature."

"What would that do?"

"Don't question it, just do it."

"But I don't see the point – you seem to be doing just fine on your own."

"Nadia!"

"Fine," she muttered, nonchalantly pacing up to the beast. Nadia hesitantly rose her hand in the air, almost like she was afraid to be seen performing in public.

"Great – good job," Chrono said darkly.

"What now? Did I do it wrong?"

"You need to practice – you've completely frozen this thing, and you froze my hand to it." Nizbel was wheezing at this point. "Pass me the torch."

"Sure." Chrono took it and stuck it to his hand. The fire stung a bit, but he reassured himself that Nadia was the designated healer for a reason. Soon the ice melted and the belt dripped with cold water.

As soon as his hand was free, he grabbed on with the other and pulled as hard as he could. Within a minute Nizbel was on its knees, gasping for breath. In another, the beast was dead, splayed out on the dirt, face down, eyes open, tongue rock hard and sticking out.

Chrono and Nadia ran to Ayla first. The girl had made no sound and no motion the whole time. Chrono could see her eyes welling up with tears, and hear her murmuring "fie, fie, awpu, awpu" over and over.

"You're hurt. Don't move," Nadia instructed pointlessly. "Don't worry, I'll fix it." Chrono took another look at the girl's legs and shuddered – both legs were fractured a little below the hip. He had never personally experienced a break like that, but a childhood friend had once broken his leg and said it was the most painful experience he had ever gone through. For what had happened, Ayla was handling the situation well.

Nadia placed her hands on Ayla's thighs. "Don't worry. This will only take a second." Chrono watched in fascination as Ayla's legs mended themselves – like he was watching them breaking in reverse. The bones realigned, and just like magnets, stuck together. Her legs straightened and filled out and all the discoloration disappeared entirely.

Ayla was fascinated, too. "Mia feneh?" she said. "Meet chee nahlss?" She started to squirm.

"Stop! I'm fixing it, I'm fixing it," Nadia grumbled. But Ayla didn't seem to be scared. She just stared at her working legs, then at Nadia, then back at her legs.

"Oh! You are..." she started, but not even her language seemed to have the right words. Chrono took the torch to her bonds while Nadia went to help Lucca. "How you... you... Nizbel?"

"Kill?" Chrono asked, pointing to the fallen creature. "How did I kill it?"

"Kill, yes. How you kill Nizbel! You are strong! You are very very very very very very strong!"

"No, dummy," a frustrated voice spat. Lucca. "It's the belt. Everyone knows that rawhide gets tighter when it's wet." She walked over and sat beside Ayla and showed no sign of injury.

"Lucca, how did you know what was going on?" Nadia asked curtly.

"I was paralyzed, not deaf, dumb, and blind."

"You're welcome."

"Say, where's that coward Azala?" Lucca mused. Chrono whirled around. The reptite queen was nowhere to be seen.

Nadia groaned. "She must have made her escape while Chrono was occupied with Nizbel."

"Oh, now it's my fault?"

"Stop it," Lucca said again. "At least she left the gate key." True – Chrono saw it nestled against the rock he had been bound upon. Azala must have been so scared she dropped or forgotten it.

"Let's get her," Chrono said.

Lucca went over and swept up the gate key. "I agree."

"No!" Nadia shouted. The others looked at her accusingly. "What? It's not like I wouldn't agree... but we're all fine, and we have the key, and Robo's here – you just need to fix him. I mean... she's not worth it. In a few hours we'll be out of here forever, so it doesn't matter."

"I don't care!" Lucca screeched. "I want her dead. Maybe we'll save a few hundred Ioka in the process."

"Weren't you the one telling us not to change the past, Lucca?" Chrono instantly regretting opening his mouth.

"She destroyed Robo. She could have had us killed. She's evil. She deserves to die."

"It's not worth it!" Chrono shouted.

"Screw you! I'm going!"

"Pardon me," a new voice interrupted. "Where am I? I seem to be missing an eye. No. No, I found it. It was only hanging from the socket. I am glad. I do not think anyone around here would have a spare eye I could borrow."

They all looked to the trash heap that had been Robo. Now he was sitting up in a normal position, putting his eye back into place, looking perfect except for a few scrapes and dirty patches.

"What? H-h-how?"

"Do not worry, Miss Lucca. I see we have all survived and are as refreshed as ever. I saw that we were overpowered, and that no creature knew I was a machine. They would not have stopped unless I had been torn to pieces. I felt that if I put myself in sleep mode they would think they killed me, and leave me alone. Sorry to have left you all alone, but all appears well anyway."

* * *

Back in Ioka village, word soon spread that Nizbel had been defeated and Chrono had sent Azala running for her life. So he enjoyed some time in the spotlight while Lucca pestered Ayla about the red rock. He couldn't understand a word most people said, but it felt good to be the hero anyway. It didn't matter that their weapons had been stolen along with all their money. Plus, the attention kept his mind off the nagging thoughts that he and his friends were slowly drifting apart.

Lucca managed to get the red rock eventually, and quickly gathered the others together. "All right, we got what we came for. Let's go." She held out the rock. Aside from its reddish hue, it didn't look special at all. "Now let's just hope it really is Dreamstone, because I for one never want to come back here."

"Agreed," Nadia said.

"I disagree," Robo jumped in. "I found this to be an invigorating period in human history, despite our run-in with the reptites. If I didn't know better, you ladies were envious because Chrono seemed to be enjoying himself very much, at least around the native women." All three gave him an angry glare. "It looks a lot to me like common human jealousy, but I admittedly am a beginner in reading human emotions."

"It's not jealousy," Lucca said.

"Yeah," Chrono agreed. "And I was enjoying myself because of the fresh air. Nothing more."

Nadia snorted. "You are a terrible liar."

When they tried to leave, though, Ioka and his family stopped them. "Please, do not leave just yet. Stay a while."

"No... um, sir," Chrono began. "We'd love to. We really would and everything. We just have to get moving. We're... well, it's a really long story, but it's really important and can't be put off."

Ioka gave him a once-over, then spoke in a low voice. "I see. You disappear as mysteriously as you appear." He approached Chrono and whispered right in his ear. "I know it was Ayla who put you into trouble – both in the cave and at the festival. I am not slow in my old age. Many thanks – you have saved our daughter, though you have not saved her from the punishment I am soon to give her. And so you will always be welcome in our village, should the heavens send you back." He stepped back and raised his voice. "Please return to us. May the heavens look down on you with favor."

No sooner had Ioka stepped back than Ayal bounded up to Chrono. "You no can leave! Too soon!" she cried, and then gave him a quick peck on the mouth. Kino grabbed her firmly by the arm and led her away as Chrono's face reddened. He could feel Lucca and Nadia staring holes in the back of his neck, and knew that the teasing to come would have no end.

Robo broke the silence. "Is that a typical human farewell? It is more interesting than that handshake you showed me."

"Come on, let's go," Chrono finally squawked. He wasn't sure how they left – he was too busy trying to make himself invisible to the others.

The trek back was as unbearable as Chrono thought it would be. Every ten steps, either Nadia or Lucca would dig at him. Comments ranged from the humorous – "Look who's suddenly a lady-killer" – to the jealous – "I can't believe you'd let that strange girl fawn all over you like that" – to the outraged – "Typical hormonal male. Just when you thought you'd met someone normal." Chrono didn't bother coming up with responses. He sort of deserved it anyway. Sure, he hadn't pursued or encouraged that kind of behavior, but he certainly wasn't complaining. Not to mention he was confused. Was Ayla's behavior to be interpreted as that of a girl with modern sensibilities, or did this primitive culture just display their affections differently? Perhaps it would be too convenient to say they were so uninhibited that kissing a friend meant nothing to them, but Chrono secretly hoped it were so, if only to make him feel clean. Robo was unusually silent the whole way back.

Eventually they found the ravine they had appeared above. The only problem was the height of the gate – it was too high to reach without climbing up the whole thing. But Lucca refused to believe a simple solution wasn't possible, so she and Robo set to work figuring out how to scale the rockface. Chrono took the opportunity to pull Nadia aside.

"What is it?" she asked gruffly.

"I..." suddenly Chrono didn't know what to say. He wasn't confused in the same way he was in the village – that was simple hormones, he knew. This was something else entirely. He just felt that the slightest mistake, one wrong word, and he would screw everything up. Not in a relational sense, though. It had been months since he had even thought of Nadia that way. Back when they first met, when she had been mistaken for the Queen and he had to rescue her, she was like the princess locked in a tower and he was the dashing prince. Now to Chrono it looked as though she were locked in a tower again, only this one was locked from the inside – she was trapped in a prison in her own head. More than ever he felt like a fool for, well, everything – for thinking he had a mission to save the world, or for being so impatient as trying to do it so young, and especially for dragging her in when she obviously was not ready for such an journey.

"Well?" Nadia asked impatiently. Chrono realized he had lost track of time, and could only imagine how stupid he looked, trailing off, staring into space.

"I'm sorry," he said simply.

"For what?"

He balked. That wasn't one of the usual answers. "I don't know. I just thought I should say that." She huffed and started to turn away. "No, wait. Stop. You know what I said about us being a team – it's just, I think we should talk, you know? I mean, really talk. You're – well, all of us – we're all pretending that this saving the world business is just fine, but it's not, and you can't pretend anymore."

Nadia stared at him for what seemed a full minute. "No... not now. I can't bear to think about that right now. We're almost done. We just have to do the thing with the wizard, and Lavos never exists, right? Then we'll talk, I promise. But I don't think I'll make it if I have to talk now."

Chrono started to protest, but chickened out. "Okay. Well I'm sorry this trip has been awkward. I'm just not used to this... this kind of culture, I guess." He forced a laugh. "I'll never kiss another girl again, I swear!"

"Listen, you're fine. Don't apologize to me."

The rest of their time was silent. Once or twice Chrono wanted to say something, but he wouldn't get more than three sentences in his mind before he imagined Nadia shutting him down. They didn't even look at each other until Lucca returned. "Robo's cut some trees down, so we have a sort of ladder going on – " then she noticed their expressions. "What's wrong with you? Come on, let's get out of here. This place is so ecologically perfect it's giving me the creeps."


End file.
